Max Verstappen added extra sparkle to Red Bull’s 400th race weekend with his dominant victory at the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix. The Dutchman also matched Michael Schumacher’s record of 116 podium finishes for Ferrari with his latest podium finish for the Austrian team. Team boss Christian Horner praised his star driver for the daring overtaking manoeuvre that ultimately secured him the victory.
Max Verstappen essentially won the race in Northern Italy’s Emilia-Romagna with his overtaking move on Oscar Piastri in the first lap. The Dutchman didn’t even get off his starting spot the fastest, but a daring manoeuvre on the outside of the Australian in turn 1 ensured he took the lead. Red Bull team boss Christian Horner watched it happen from the sidelines.
“The start was average at best, but it was the first corner where he made the difference,” Horner said after the race. “I think Oscar was more focused on Russell and left a small gap, and Max just went for it. It was a kind of ‘win or bin’ situation. Max is just so good in those situations where he sees a gap. He’s just so decisive.”
Instinct
The four-time world champion admits that he had no confidence in winning prior to the Italian race weekend. “But from Saturday, the car was much more competitive over one lap, and fortunately, this continued into Sunday,” says Max Verstappen. The Dutchman relied mainly on his own instinct during the decisive action in the opening round.
“As soon as I braked late and then came off the brakes, I felt that there might be a chance for an overtaking maneuver,” the driver continues. “So I kept up the speed. And fortunately, the overtaking maneuver essentially stuck. It’s not an easy move to make, but luckily everything went well.” Oscar Piastri tried to reclaim the lead from the Dutchman later in the race with an undercut, but a virtual safety car allowed Verstappen to make a shorter pit stop. With his victory in Imola, the world champion closes the gap on the championship leader by ten points.
