The world champion and the championship-leading Ferrari driver engage in a gripping duel in the sprint race. In the end, Max Verstappen secured pole position for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. Mick Schumacher lands a sense of achievement.
World champion Max Verstappen won the first sprint of the Formula 1 season and thus secured first place on the grid for the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix. The Red Bull star from the Netherlands reached the finish line in Imola after 21 laps in Ferrari’s home game ahead of Scuderia star Charles Leclerc (Monaco) and his Mexican teammate Sergio Perez.
Verstappen got eight championship points. Leclerc is still clearly leading the championship with 78 points before the fourth race of the season on Sunday (from 3 p.m. in the live ticker on t-online). Verstappen has 33 points.
Vettel just missed the first points
“It will definitely be different tomorrow,” said Verstappen, who was successful for the second time in the fourth sprint in Formula 1 history: “In the end, Charles’ tires wore off and I was able to start my maneuver.” Leclerc said: “It’s still a front row start. The support from the fans is huge. I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”
Former world champion Sebastian Vettel finished 13th in the Aston Martin and missed his first points of the season, as did Mick Schumacher im Haas, who finished tenth.
The short race of around 100 km also went uncountable for series constructors’ world champion Mercedes: record champion Lewis Hamilton did not get past 14th place, his new teammate George Russell (both England) raced to the finish in eleventh place. The classification of the sprint determines the starting order for the main race.
Formula 1 has significantly upgraded the sprint format this year. The winner now receives eight instead of three World Championship points, and there are points for the first eight drivers to cross the finish line. This means that the sprints – more are planned for Spielberg and Sao Paulo – are even more important for the title fight.