F1 2025 Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix results: Verstappen victorious at Imola
20 May 2025Max Verstappen returned to the top step of the Formula 1 podium at Imola, taking his first win since Japan four races prior.
Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri fell short of challenging the Red Bull driver honest with a mixture of strategy mistakes and a lack of pace compared to Max more generally.
Lewis Hamilton, meanwhile, recovered well from a Q2 exit for a strong first race for Ferrari on Italian soil and George Russell’s 2025 top-five streak finally came to an end as Mercedes endured a challenging weekend overall.
2025 Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix results
Pos | Driver | Team | Time/Retired | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT | 1:31:33.199 | 25 |
2 | Lando Norris | McLaren Mercedes | +6.109s | 18 |
3 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren Mercedes | +12.956s | 15 |
4 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | +14.356s | 12 |
5 | Alexander Albon | Williams Mercedes | +17.945s | 10 |
6 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | +20.774s | 8 |
7 | George Russell | Mercedes | +22.034s | 6 |
8 | Carlos Sainz | Williams Mercedes | +22.898s | 4 |
9 | Isack Hadjar | Racing Bulls Honda RBPT | +23.586s | 2 |
10 | Yuki Tsunoda | Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT | +26.446s | 1 |
11 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes | +27.250s | 0 |
12 | Nico Hulkenberg | Kick Sauber Ferrari | +30.296s | 0 |
13 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine Renault | +31.424s | 0 |
14 | Liam Lawson | Racing Bulls Honda RBPT | +32.511s | 0 |
15 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes | +32.993s | 0 |
16 | Franco Colapinto | Alpine Renault | +33.411s | 0 |
17 | Oliver Bearman | Haas Ferrari | +33.808s | 0 |
18 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Kick Sauber Ferrari | +38.572s | 0 |
NC | Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | DNF | 0 |
NC | Esteban Ocon | Haas Ferrari | DNF | 0 |
Norris salvages second
Lando Norris qualified the lowest of the title-contending trio in fourth and maintained position at lights out, patiently biding his time behind George Russell in the early laps.
A clean and calculated move on Lap 11 promoted him to third, and after Piastri pitted, Norris inherited second. Unfortunately for Lando, he was unable to make any inroads into Max’s advantage.
Norris first pitted on Lap 29 for hard tyres, rejoining in seventh and climbing back up to second as others pitted ahead.
A second stop under the Safety Car on Lap 47 dropped him behind Piastri. Buoyed by the superior grip of his fresher tyres, he made the decisive move to sweep around the outside of Turn 1 and reclaim second place from his team-mate.
The Brit crossed the line six seconds adrift of Verstappen taking his fourth second-place finish of the season and another valuable haul of championship points.
Hamilton’s first Italian outing for Ferrari
From 12th on the grid, Lewis Hamilton had his work cut out at Imola. Having dropped to 13th behind Kimi Antonelli at the start, Hamilton found himself bottled up behind the Mercedes and Isack Hadjar in the first half of the race.
A stop under the Virtual Safety Car on Lap 30 gave Hamilton the chance to reset and on lap 34, he finally dispatched Antonelli and then cleared Hadjar in short order to move into fifth.
Hamilton pitted again for fresh tyres under the full Safety Car and dropped back down to seventh. With the race restarted, he profited from squabbling Albon and Leclerc ahead to take fourth by the chequered flag.
Russell’s run comes to an end
George Russell started third but was boxed in off the line by Verstappen and Piastri. Still, the Brit was able to hold position in the opening laps and fend off the much faster Norris until Lap 11.
He made an early first stop on Lap 12 for Hard tyres but fell back into the midfield fray, rejoining in 14th. Russell made another stop under the VSC and had climbed up to sixth before the final restart, but without fresh tyres at his disposal, he was a sitting duck.
Hamilton passed him on Lap 57, dropping George to seventh where he ultimately finished. While still in the points, the result marked his first dip outside of the top five this year.
Bearman’s bad luck continues
Ollie Bearman looked to have made a late save in qualifying by jumping to 10th in the final moments of Q1, but his time was deleted after a red flag was triggered just before he crossed the line. That left him 19th on the grid and with plenty of work to do.
Running a long first stint on Hard tyres, Bearman made it as high as ninth before pitting under the Virtual Safety Car. But disaster struck when his Haas was released with a loose wheel, forcing an immediate return to the pits.
The unscheduled stop dropped him down the order and ended any hope of a points finish, and he eventually came home 17th.
Verstappen back on top with decisive Turn 1 move
Verstappen returned to winning ways at the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix. Having started from the front row, he made an assertive move into Turn 1, braking late and sweeping around the outside of Piastri to snatch the lead.
From there, the Dutchman controlled the pace at the front. He boxed under VSC on Lap 30 and retained track position with a comfortable margin.
A second stop under the Safety Car saw Verstappen bolt on a fresh set of Hard tyres, and with the two McLarens behind squabbling for second, he was able to build a comfortable gap in the closing laps.
Unchallenged after the final restart, Verstappen crossed the line to take his second win of the season and reassert himself in the title fight.
Piastri pipped by team-mate after strategic gamble
Oscar Piastri’s strong launch from pole kept him ahead of Russell and Norris, but he lost the lead to Verstappen into Turn 1 as the Red Bull driver surged around the outside.
McLaren opted for an early stop on Lap 13, which saw Piastri drop back into traffic, but a spirited charge through the field brought him up to fourth by Lap 28.
A timely second stop under the Virtual Safety Car allowed him to rejoin in fourth but he stayed out when others pitted under the Safety Car later in the race – a move that left him vulnerable on older rubber.
Though he briefly ran ahead of Norris, Piastri couldn’t hold off his team-mate on fresher tyres and lost the position with just a handful of laps remaining. He finished a dejected third, having started on pole and with strong pace throughout.
