The Emilia Romagna Grand Prix 2024 which was held in Imola was one of the closest races of the year. It was tough for Max Verstappen and he was pushed to his limit. This was an important race and this was the home Grand Prix for Ferrari as the Tifosi were there in full support for their team from Italy. This was a 63 lap race and this race has given Max Verstappen a good lead.
Imola GP 2024 Final Race Standings
Position | Driver | Team | Time | Points |
1. | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 1:25:25:252 | 25 |
2. | Lando Norris | McClaren | +0.725s | 18 |
3. | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | +7.916s | 15 |
4. | Oscar Piastri | McClaren | +14.132s | 12 |
5. | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | +22.325s | 10 |
6. | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | +35.104s | 8 |
7. | George Russell | Mercedes | +47.154s | 7 |
8. | Sergio Perez | Red Bull | +54.776s | 4 |
9. | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | +79.556s | 2 |
10. | Yuki Tsonuda | RB | +1 Lap | 1 |
11. | Nico Hulkenberg | Haas | +1 Lap | 0 |
12. | Kevin Magnussen | Haas | +1 Lap | 0 |
13. | Daniel Ricciardo | RB | +1 Lap | 0 |
14. | Esteban Ocon | Alpine | +1 Lap | 0 |
15. | Zhou Guanyu | Kick Sauber | +1 Lap | 0 |
16. | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | +1 Lap | 0 |
17. | Logan Sargeant | Williams | +1 Lap | 0 |
18. | Valteri Bottas | Kick Sauber | +1 Lap | 0 |
19. | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | +1 Lap | 0 |
DNF | Alexander Albon | Williams | DNF | 0 |
Source: F1 official website
Key Takeaways:
Max Verstappen has won the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix after failing to win the Miami Grand in the last race.
Max Verstappen won the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix by just 0.725s against Lando Norris from McClaren who was in P2.
This is win number 59 for Max Verstappen in Formula 1.
Max Verstappen tied the record held by the great Ayrton Senna for eight consecutive pole starts in Formula 1.
The next race will be the Monaco Grand Prix which will be held in Monte Carlo from 24th – 26th May 2024.
George Russell had the fastest lap of the race with a timing of 1:18.569.
This was the 5th time that the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix was held. The first race was in 2020.
Race as it happened: Imola GP 2024 Highlights
Max Verstappen had one of his most challenging weekends this year. On Friday his car was not in the best of form but he bounced back on Saturday because that is what champions are made of. He got his 8th pole in a row which takes him level with the great Ayrton Senna. Lando Norris was P2 and Oscar Piastri was handed a 3 place grid penalty. The race started and both Max Verstappen and Lando Norris got good starts. Lewis Hamilton got to P7 and Sergio Perez moved into the points as he got to P10 overtaking Daniel Ricciardo. By Lap 4, Max Verstappen was over a second ahead of Lando Norris. Charles Leclerc, Carlos Sainz and Oscar Piastri competed in the Top 5. It was Lap 8 and Oscar Piastri was finding it difficult to get past Carlos Sainz. It was Lap 10 when the drivers started going into the pits. Fernando Alonso noticed that his brakes were on fire and Yuki Tsonuda had been stuck behind Nico Hulkenberg.
In Lap 16, Max Verstappen was ahead by 5 seconds from Lando Norris. Sergio Perez was in a problem in Lap 18 but he held onto the P8 position. Oscar Piastri was having a better race as he reached P7 by Lap 21. After Lap 28, Carlos Sainz was in P6 and he was behind Oscar Piastri and Sergio Perez. Yuki Tsonuda reached P11 and he was close to the points. By Lap 35, Lando Norris was feeling that he was slower than the drivers behind him. Lewis Hamilton got past Sergio Perez for P7 and it was getting worse for the Red Bull. On Lap 38, Sergio Perez pitted and he was back in the race at P11 behind Daniel Ricciardo. By Lap 40, Sergio Perez was in an overtaking spree as he got past Daniel Ricciardo, Nico Hulkenberg and Yuki Tsonuda. It was Lap 43 and Sergio Perez was in P8 and Charles Leclerc was closing the gap to Lando Norris for P2.
Lance Stroll was the only hope for Aston Martin for points from this race as he was nearing P10. Fernando Alonso was in P19. Kevin Magnussen got to P15 on Lap 48 after a good battle with Zhou Guanyu. Esteban Ocon was closing in on Valteri Bottas for P13. Lance Stroll got to P9 as he got past Nico Hulkenberg and Yuki Tsonuda. By Lap 52, it was only 4 seconds between Max to and Lando Norris. By Lap 56, Lando Norris through his brilliant driving had brought down the gap to Max Verstappen to 2 seconds. Alexander Albon was the first driver to retire from the race and Max Verstappen was only ahead of Lando Norris by 1.5 seconds. It was a fight to the finish till the last lap but Max Verstappen kept his nerves and he won the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. Lando Norris was in P2 and Charles Leclerc was in P3. Oscar Piastri raced very well for P4 and Carlos Sainz of Ferrari was in P5. Lewis Hamilton and George Russell of Mercedes were in P6 and P7. Sergio Perez had a terrible race as he was in P8 with Lance Stroll and Yuki Tsonuda rounding off the Top 10.
