Max Verstappen wins sprint in Imola

Cloudy. Dry. Air +20С, Rail +29…27С

The Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix was the first of three stages in the 2022 season in the sprint format on Saturday. The weather caused intrigue. The only practice session on Friday was rainy, qualifying was also held on a drying track and on Saturday the asphalt dried up, the sun came out, the tires started to work – and the balance of power changed.

The sprint weekend’s rules were changed, now the top eight riders got points – there was something to fight for, though the risks had yet to be measured – retirement in the battle for a few points in the sprint could take away the odds in Sunday’s race.

On Saturday the training went smoothly, but the three riders did not participate. McLaren handled the power plant on Ricciardo’s car and the brakes on Norris’s car. Alfa Romeo fitted Bottas’ car to a spare chassis after the exhaust system failed at the end of qualifying.

The starting field of the sprint was in accordance with the qualifying protocol. Verstappen and Leclerc started from the front row, Norris and Magnussen from the second. Sainz crashed the car on a fast lap and started the race in 10th, the Mercedes drivers didn’t make the final at all – Russell started the sprint in 11th, Hamilton in 13th.

A sprint does not involve a mandatory pit stop. Racers were free to choose tires – each tire could handle a distance of 21 laps or 30 minutes. As a result, Magnussen, Schumacher and Latifi started on Medium, the rest on Soft.

At the start, Leclerc passed Verstappen to lead the race. Ricciardo hacked at Magnussen and Perez, everyone kept moving. Sainz was ahead of Vettel, Hamilton rolled back to 15th place.

After contacting Gasly, Zhou crashed his car and Pierre entered the pits with a broken tire. The safety car drove away. The stewards left the incident without consequences.

Top ten in round 2: Leclerc – Verstappen – Norris – Magnussen – Perez – Riccardo – Alonso – Sainz – Vettel – Bottas.

A restart was announced in the fifth round. Leclerc retained the lead. Albon passed Latifi for 17th place.

On lap 7 Sainz overtook Alonso for seventh.

On lap 8, Pérez overtook Magnussen for 4th, Hamilton and Stroll for 14th.

On lap 9, Bottas was ahead of Vettel and moved up to 10th place.

On lap 11, Ricciardo overtook Magnussen for fifth and Perez overtook Norris for third.

On lap 12, Sainz Magnussen advanced and moved up to sixth.

Top ten in round 12: Leclerc – Verstappen – Perez – Norris – Ricciardo – Sainz – Magnussen – Alonso – Bottas – Vettel.

On lap 14 Sainz overtook Ricciardo for fifth.

Alonso actively crossed the track, defending himself against the attacks of rivals – and was warned by a black and white flag.

On the 16th, Schumacher overtook Vettel and rose to 10th place, and Bottas – Alonso in the battle for eighth.

On lap 19 Sainz was ahead of Norris for fourth, and Russell – Vettel for 11th.

In the closing laps Verstappen’s tires worked better, closing the gap on Leclerc by a distance that allowed DRS to be used. Max attacked several times – and on lap 20 he took the lead and led the race.

†

Max Verstappen won the sprint in Imola and will share the front row with Leclerc again tomorrow. Perez and Sainz start second, Norris and Riccardo start third.

Sprint results

best lap: Sergio Perez (Red Bull) – 1:19,012 (lap 14)

Reasons for leaving

Championship position : Individual

Championship position : Constructors’ Championship

Team		engine	Glasses
†	1 Scuderia Ferrari	Ferrari	116
	2 Red Bull Racing	Red Bull powertrains	69
	3. Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team	Mercedes	65
†	4 McLaren Racing	Mercedes	31
†	5 Alpine F1 Team	Renault	22
†	6. Alfa Romeo F1 Team ORLEN	Ferrari	fifteen
†	7 Haas F1 Team	Ferrari	thirteen
†	8 Scuderia Alpha Tauri	Red Bull powertrains	ten
†	9Williams Racing	Mercedes	a