Last Updated on May 19 2025, 1:03 pm

As Formula One rolled into Italy for the first weekend of the European season, McLaren and Oscar Piastri were riding high. With three wins on the bounce in Bahrain, Saudi and Miami, the Australian was heading to equal a McLaren record set by Ayrton Senna with four consecutive wins back in 1991.

McLaren dominated free practice in Imola with both drivers in the top two for each of the three sessions. Yet as has been the trend this year come qualifying, McLaren fall back into the clutches of Max Verstappen and George Russell only this time the world champion would not claim his fourth pole position of the season, that honour would go to the much improved Oscar Piastri.

For the fourth time this year, Verstappen was set for a front row start alongside a McLaren driver and given the world champion has made some questionable starts this year, all eyes were on turn 1 which would be crucial to the outcome of the race.

 

 

Red Bull bring significant upgrades

Unlike in Saudi where Max was the pole sitter and Piastri alongside on the front row, it was the Austrian who would have that crucial 8 metre advantage off the line. Yet in a role reversal of turn 1 in Jeddah, it was Verstappen who emerged ahead into turn 2 with Piastri later admitting he braked too early.

Red Bull brought significant upgrades to the Emilia-Romagne Grand Prix and as is often the case, an average Friday on track meant a long night back at Milton Keynes in the simulator. Whilst this wasn’t evident in final practice with Max around 8/10ths off the time of the lead McLaren, the final runs in Q3 proved desperately close with Piastri winning out from his Red Bull rival by just 34/1000ths of a second.

In the run up to the Imola weekend, Red Bull advisor Dr. Helmut Marko was pessimistic believing the best his driver could manage would be a place on the podium. The Austrian conceded of McLaren: “They have an incredible car that is insanely strong in its complexity. Max’s pole position [in Miami] — we have to be honest — only came about because both McLarens and [Kimi] Antonelli in the Mercedes made mistakes on the last attempt.”

Yet with Piastri making no mistakes in Imola qualifying unlike his team mate, the margins were ever so fine with the young gun pipping the maestro to pole. Expectations for the race were also minimal from the Red Bull camp given the new FIA driving standards guidelines which have been issued to the judges this year.

Steiner makes demands of Hamilton

 

 

 

Piastri defensive?

Verstappen enjoyed a certain amount of dominance under the preceding version of the guidelines, being able to pinch the corner on the inside or find space around the outside where he could not be pushed off without a penalty for his opponent.

It seemed after the start to the race in Jeddah, that given the removal of the obligation to leave racing room, the move around the outside had been cancelled out by the new guidelines. Yet once again Verstappen was able to do something only he can pull off as he swept around the outside of Piastri at turn one in Imola.

Of course subtle changes in psychology affect a drivers appetite for risk and with Piastri leading the Ward Drivers’ Championship (WDC) by 16 points from Norris and with Verstappen 32 behind, he appeared to take a more defensive approach to the start of the Grand Prix. Should he and Max collide, the Aussie may have been handing the lead of the drivers’ title race to his team mate.

Nevertheless the move was a stroke of genius by Verstappen, but what was to follow suggests Red Bull Racing are back in this year’s WDC. In 2024, Max stole pole from McLaren’s by the smallest of margins, yet during the race he was unable to put clear blue water between himself and Lando Norris. At the chequered flag after harrying Max for most of the race, Norris was to come home in P2 just 7/10ths behind Max and was thwarted from his maiden F1 victory.

Under pressure Ferrari fined for illegal offence

 

 

 

Red Bull back in the hunt

This year the tale of the tape in this year’s race was another story. Unlike in 2024, Piastri could not live with Verstappen’s pace in the Red Bull and the team decided early to pit him for on a possible two stop strategy to mitigate the superior tyre wear of the Red Bull evident during the first stint of the race. Yet this appeared to backfire leaving Verstappen over ten seconds clear of Norris now in second and matters got worse for McLaren with the VSC deployed after Esteban Ocon’s Haas ground to a halt.

Verstappen got a cheap pitstop and was now a whopping 20 seconds ahead of his nearest rival. Of course a late full safety car out pay to this lead as Verstappen once again pitted for fresh rubber. At the restart Norris was on fresh rubber too and right behind Verstappen, yet the World Champion blew him away at around a second a lap.

This kind of pace advantage over McLaren was truly shocking and represents the fact that Red Bull have indeed made a huge step towards matching the papaya liveried cars in a range of conditions and track layouts.

Yes this was Verstappen’s fourth consecutive win here in Imola, but the rate at which he disappeared down the road from the McLaren’s was astonishing. Next up is Monaco where the RB20 had its worst outing of the year last season.

The problem’s facing Checo and Max were the RB20 was just not compliant enough to ride the high kerbs softly and was spitting the drivers back onto the track sideways causing them to lose significant chunks of time. This yea’r s car looks to have solved some of those issues, but it will be next Friday before we know whether there is a genuine chance that Verstappen will clinch that all important fifth consecutive drivers’ title, to match Schumacher – the only driver to had done this before.

Wolff set for early Mercedes exit

 

 

MORE F1 NEWS – Ocon SLAMS Alpine over Doohan sacking

Esteban Ocon’s relationship with Alpine had already frayed by the end of the 2024 Formula One season. But any lingering resentment between the two parties has been reignited following the team’s handling of Ocon’s replacement, Jack Doohan, in the early stages of the 2025 campaign. Speaking to French broadcaster Canal+, the former Alpine driver was unsparing in his criticism of the team’s abrupt decision to drop Doohan after just five Grand Prix weekends.

The Frenchman questioned not only the fairness of the decision, but also its potential long-term consequences for the young Australian’s career.

Ocon, who now drives for Haas, suggested the move was emblematic of a wider trend in F1, where young drivers are discarded too quickly in a sport with unforgiving schedules and limited opportunities. While acknowledging the talent of Doohan’s replacement, Franco Colapinto, he was unequivocal in his assessment: “It’s not normal,” said Ocon. “You can’t expect a rookie to prove everything in five races…. READ MORE ON THIS STORY