IMOLA, Italy - Max Verstappen took a dominant victory at Imola on Sunday to celebrate Red Bull’s 400th grand prix and end Formula One leader Oscar Piastri’s run of three wins in a row for McLaren.
Australian Piastri started on pole but finished third, overtaken at the start around the outside in a brilliant move by Verstappen and then passed by teammate Lando Norris on fresher tyres seven laps from the end.
Piastri’s championship lead over Norris was trimmed from 16 points to 13 after seven rounds.
The victory was Verstappen’s 65th, second of the season and the four-times world champion’s fourth in a row at the Italian circuit near Bologna after 2021, 2022 and 2024. There was no race in 2023 due to flooding.
Piastri had started the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix as favourite for a fourth win in a row, and fifth in seven races but events went against him.
A virtual safety car, triggered by Esteban Ocon stopping his Haas halfway through the race, came after his first early pitstop.