Max Verstappen caught Oscar Piastri napping to claim the lead of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, before the Red Bull racer ran off unchallenged to win at Imola last Sunday.
The 27-year-old made full use of the upgrades that Red Bull took to Ferrari’s backyard to get his second win of the 2025 F1 season so far. Verstappen will also head to the Monaco Grand Prix this weekend now only 22 points from Piastri in the F1 drivers’ championship standings.
Piastri had opened a 32-point lead over the four-time reigning champion after earning three consecutive Grand Prix victories in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Miami. But the 24-year-old did not have the speed to deny Verstappen the win at Imola after losing the lead on the first lap.
Max Verstappen made Oscar Piastri look like he had a Formula 2 car with his overtake to lead at Imola
McLaren forcing Piastri into a two-stop strategy by pitting the Australian on Lap 13 of 63, in an attempt to put Red Bull under pressure to react with Verstappen, ultimately stopped the championship leader from fighting to win the Emilia Romagna GP after dropping into traffic.
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| Position | Drivers’ Championship | Points |
| 1 |
Oscar Piastri |
146 |
| 2 |
Lando Norris |
133 |
| 3 |
Max Verstappen |
124 |
| 4 |
George Russell |
99 |
| 5 |
Charles Leclerc |
61 |
| 6 |
Lewis Hamilton |
53 |
| 7 |
Andrea Kimi Antonelli |
48 |
Yet how Verstappen overtook Piastri to lead at Imola with his more aggressive line to charge around the outside into the Tamburello chicane left former Alpine executive director Marcin Budkowski feeling the McLaren driver had an F2 car compared to the Red Bull racer’s F1 car.
“If you look at the helicopter camera, the aerial pictures, it looks like a Formula 1 car driving around a Formula 2 car. Incredible,” Budkowski told RacingNews365. “The amount of speed Max carries through that corner compared to Oscar, it’s just mind-blowing.
“And it just shows the confidence with which Max goes into that corner, and the contrast with the carefulness and probably over-carefulness that Oscar deploys there.”
Oscar Piastri will kick himself for inviting Max Verstappen’s Lap 1 overtake at Imola
Piastri denied Verstappen pole position at Imola by just 0.034 seconds, but he failed to make use of starting the Emilia Romagna GP from P1 on the grid despite initially getting a stronger start. George Russell also briefly got his nose ahead of Verstappen’s car from P3 on the grid.
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But Russell’s run into Turn 2 took Piastri’s focus away from Verstappen and the McLaren ace braked slightly earlier than would have been optimal. It thus invited the Red Bull racer to go around his outside with a clear run on the racing line, allowing him to carry far more speed.
If Piastri had braked even just slightly later on the same line the Australian took for T2, then Verstappen would have had to back out of his overtake or risk being put on the exit kerb or run through the gravel at the Tamburello chicane, which could have cost him several places.
Instead, Piastri yielded and he did not have the speed to fight back, thus forcing McLaren to risk a two-stop strategy to try to force Red Bull’s hand with Verstappen. Yet Red Bull knew it was over and left him out until the virtual safety car for Esteban Ocon’s stricken Haas on L29.
