The Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix was boring. Let’s just start our talk by admitting that. However, it wasn’t entirely uneventful either. We saw some exciting battles on track, so let’s revisit the key moments from Imola last weekend.
Originally, Max Verstappen, Oscar Piastri, and Lando Norris were set to start P1, P2, and P3. However, a three-place grid penalty for impeding Kevin Magnussen in Q1 dropped Piastri to P5 behind Carlos Sainz.
Piastri kept breathing down Sainz’s neck until his pit stop in lap 24, which pushed him back to P8 behind Lance Stroll. But he quickly recovered his pace and climbed to P4, especially after Sainz’s pit stop in lap 28 (while leading the race) dropped him to P6 behind Sergio Perez.
Sainz managed to overtake Perez for P5, followed by Norris and then Leclerc on lap 27. It seemed everyone was getting past Perez that day, raising questions about the Mexican minister of defense’s ability to defend. This makes us wonder, how long would he keep that performance? Because he either keeps that performance or keep his Red Bull seat. He certainly cannot have both. With his reputation as a “king of street circuits,” Monaco next weekend could be a chance for him to keep his throne.
Now, onto Lando Norris’s impressive performance, particularly in the race’s closing laps. He chased Max Verstappen relentlessly, putting the champion under pressure – a rare sight.
Norris’s pace was evident from the start, and he clearly had his sights set on victory. This became even clearer when Verstappen began complaining about worn tires, allowing Norris to close the gap to be within two seconds. For a moment, it seemed like the young Brit might pull off the win, especially with Max reporting battery issues.
In my opinion, Lando Norris could have won the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix if the race had been two laps longer.
While it wasn’t meant to be this time, finishing just behind Verstappen with a gap of less than a second is a great result. Let’s hope “little Lando Norris” can secure another win, or maybe even two, before the season ends.
See you next week, because it’s the Monaco Grand Prix and we never miss “THE” Grand Prix.
