Verstappen knew he had to ‘attack’ to take the lead at the start

Max Verstappen delivered a commanding drive at Imola, overtaking early and managing perfectly to secure his fourth straight win in Italy.

Max Verstappen claimed victory at the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix for the fourth consecutive edition, remaining unbeaten at Imola since 2021 (with the 2023 race having been cancelled). The Red Bull driver started second and managed to overtake Oscar Piastri despite an average getaway.

“It wasn’t very good, I was on the outside and thought I’d try to attack around the outside, and it worked. I then gave everything to try and build a gap once in the lead,” said Verstappen, who was then able to manage his race.

“The car was good, I was able to take care of the tyres. The car was better than on Friday and we were happy. The VSC was useful for the stop, and even on the hard tyres our pace was good.”

But after that stroke of luck with the virtual safety car, he had to deal with a new twist: “Then there was the safety car and we all got bunched up again, but on the restart I did well, and we were able to hold on until the end. The car was very good this weekend, and the pit stops as well, we did everything perfectly.”

After testing under the name Franz Hermann at the Nürburgring in a Ferrari 296 GT3, Verstappen begins a triple-header with a victory, though he knows the situation will be different next week at the Monaco Grand Prix.

“I love driving, I love racing in Formula 1, but also in all the other cars. Next week is a very different circuit—Monaco, it’s very difficult—but for now, I’m just enjoying it.”