After every Formula 1 race, driver Jeroen Bleekemolen shares his observations in an exclusive column for Formule1.nl. Who or what caught his eye, what went well, and what needs to change? This time after the Emilia-Romagna GP in Imola: the costly miscalculation by Oscar Piastri, the ongoing decision stress at McLaren, and the hopeful sporting prospects of Max Verstappen.
It’s clear that Max Verstappen won the Emilia-Romagna GP in Imola on Sunday right from the start. His overtaking move on Oscar Piastri was phenomenal, there’s no other way to describe it. Despite a poor start, as he didn’t get off well, he still managed to pull it off. It still holds true that no one can match Max.
Oscar Piastri is the World Championship leader and a cool customer, absolutely, but here he simply made a costly miscalculation. He braked early to play it safe at the start. But you can’t do that unpunished with Max nearby. If he sees an opportunity, he takes it. I understand Piastri, as he was not only watching Max but also George Russell and wanted to close the gap by braking in time. It’s logical, but Max never lets these kinds of opportunities slip by. He just finishes it off, week after week. And what I find truly astonishing is that he almost always succeeds and rarely – or actually never – falls off.
Under Control
I don’t quite understand how Max managed to maintain control for the rest of the race, as he was struggling with the car’s setup on Friday and it was clear that only the medium compound was working well. With some irony, you could say that tire supplier Pirelli has once again had a significant influence on the race’s outcome.
Returning to McLaren, they brought Oscar Piastri in for a pit stop twice. I consider this a mistake. In Imola, you have a very long pit lane and it’s a fast circuit, so if you come in twice, you lose a lot of time in comparison. In other words, a two-stop strategy in Imola should never really be considered. It seems, especially at the second stop under the safety car, a bit like panic football. And we have to give that to Red Bull: things go wrong there too, but strategically the team almost always makes the right choices. Also this race, with Max, where everything fell his way. But that’s allowed every now and then, of course…
Norris would go crazy
And then the situation at the end of the race, where McLaren let its drivers Piastri and Lando Norris race against each other. It’s charming and sportsmanlike, the differences between them are small and it’s still early in the season, I know all that, but I would always choose the championship leader and make sure they score as many points as possible. Especially in the case of Piastri, who is a really strong driver.
Formula 1 is a ruthless sport. If you want to win, if you want to become world champion, you have to dare to make choices. Even if there are casualties. Norris is obviously not feeling very comfortable and he would go crazy, but as a team you just have to deal with that. The title is above everything.
As a team in McLaren’s position, you simply have to bet on one horse. They (again) fail to do this, and of course this plays into Max’s hands. At McLaren, Piastri and Norris continue to snatch points from each other, allowing him to stay in the race and keep the championship open. In fact, I think he still has a good chance. Because he is someone who can turn a race in his favor. And if the Red Bull team gets its affairs in order even better, the odds could suddenly turn.
