Imola GP: five quick takeaways

Red Bull still has fire – at least in Max Verstappen’s hands

After the Miami GP, Helmut Marko called the gap to McLaren “depressing.” But just two weeks later, Red Bull showed it is still very much a force in this F1 season – well, at least one Red Bull. Max Verstappen once again demonstrated his brilliance in the RB21 and this time, it wasn’t a surprise pole lap, but a decisive move in Turn 1 at Imola that made the difference.

Even though Oscar Piastri had the better launch and George Russell passed Verstappen on the straight, the Dutchman was far braver on the brakes than his rivals. Yes, Piastri left the door open on the grippier racing line, but Verstappen still deserves full credit. Even more impressive was that he managed to pull away and preserve his tyres better than McLaren. Free air may have helped, but Red Bull’s race pace exceeded expectations.

This win doesn’t mean Red Bull’s problems have magically disappeared, but it does prove two things: first, the team’s 400th grand prix couldn’t have ended any better. And second, as long as Verstappen has a competitive car underneath him, he can never be ruled out.

– Ronald Vording

Alex Albon is one of the stars of 2025 so far

Yes, the end result in Imola could have been better and perhaps Alex Albon could have shown more patience when attacking Charles Leclerc in the closing laps. Nonetheless, the Thai-Brit scored more valuable points for Williams and continued his strong run of form.

Williams remains one of the season’s biggest surprises – and the fact that Albon is able to fight with Ferrari on merit is remarkable. But more than that, he’s consistently delivering for the team. Much has been made of how important this season is for him, especially with Carlos Sainz arriving as his new teammate, and so far, Albon is making a very convincing case.

– Oleg Karpov

Yuki Tsunoda piles pressure on himself

Japanese driver Yuki Tsunoda was brutally honest after his qualifying crash. “Stupid,” “ashamed”… he wasn’t trying to make excuses. And truthfully, it’s hard to argue with his assessment.

Crashing at the start of Q1 is, indeed, a serious mistake – and any driver in a top team should feel ashamed after not only ruining their own shot at a decent result, but also creating extra work for the mechanics and unnecessary costs for a team still fighting for the championship with Verstappen.

Red Bull’s management is showing patience with Tsunoda, perhaps having learned from past missteps – and so far, there’s been no public criticism. But Yuki isn’t helping his case.

– Oleg Karpov

Aston Martin shows signs of progress

After a long wait, Aston Martin finally introduced a significant upgrade package to the AMR25 – and the encouraging part is that it delivered. Both drivers made it into Q3, although neither was overly enthusiastic. “I think for sure it’s better, which is nice. But we still need a lot more and 57 laps tomorrow, so we’ll see what the pace is like,” said Lance Stroll on Saturday.

The car looked competitive on the medium tyres used in qualifying, but the race turned out to be more difficult. Strategy once again proved to be a weak spot, and the stint on hard tyres showed that while the update has moved the team forward, it’s still not enough to change the picture.

Whether this marks the beginning of a proper recovery remains unclear – for now, the progress is real but limited.

– Jose Carlos de Celis

Franco Colapinto falls short, but shows promise

“He needs to be fast, not crash, and score points,” said Flavio Briatore when outlining his expectations for Franco Colapinto at Alpine. Clearly, the Argentine didn’t quite meet those targets in Imola.

Then again, neither did his far more experienced teammate. Pierre Gasly showed strong pace throughout the weekend and reached Q3 for the fourth time this season. But a costly mistake while defending ninth from Leclerc on lap three ended his chances of scoring points.

Colapinto’s weekend was marked by a high-profile crash in qualifying – exactly the kind of error he can’t afford, especially given how last season ended. Until that moment, though, he was edging closer to Gasly’s one-lap pace and made it into Q2. On Sunday, a 22-lap stint on mediums highlighted solid tyre management. There’s still a long way to go to meet Briatore’s standards – but some encouraging signs are already there.

– Federico Faturos