Hakkinen: It was very important for Max to win

The weekend at Imola was interesting for several reasons, including the weather factor, as the rains in April also affected qualifying results and the nature of the race.

Red Bull Racing had an impressive run in the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, with Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez taking the winning double, which is very important for the Milton Keynes team, which has been forced to bounce back after a bumpy start to the season and overtake Ferrari.

Two-time world champion Mika Hakkinen commented on the events of the fourth leg of the season, which featured Saturday’s sprint, in the next issue of his column on the Unibet bookmaker’s website.

It was extremely important for Max to get this win. Two meetings, in Bahrain and in Australia, really ruined the start of the season for him, so last Sunday it was crucial to win the Grand Prix. His team had to show everyone that their car was not only fast, but also reliable, and they were ready to fight Ferrari.

Verstappen won the sprint race on Saturday, which was the key to victory on Sunday, and he was in complete control of the Grand Prix. If he’s going to defend his league title, weekends should be spent that way. With Sergio Perez finishing second, this is an ideal result for the team. Exactly what you need.

There is no doubt that Charles Leclerc had a shot at second place or at least a podium, but towards the end of the race he made the mistake of losing control of the car in the Variante Alta chicane.

In changing conditions, when the track dries up, you have to act very carefully because if you attack too aggressively, the car can “snarl” very quickly. Charles admitted he really attacked, and I can understand this as he was fighting for 2nd and trying to put as much pressure on Perez as possible.

He was very lucky as he was able to get out easily, but still got to the Ferrari pit where the nose cone of his car was being replaced. As a result, Leclerc finished sixth, which can be considered a good result. He is still confidently leading the championship, but this mistake has become a memory: you can’t win every race. Sometimes the right tactic is to secure 2nd or 3rd place.

Lando Norris continues to perform well behind the wheel of the McLaren and although Charles’ relegation helped him to third, he rode into 4th position with great confidence and looked very competitive.

Valtteri Bottas was again pleased with excellent results, finishing seventh in the sprint on Saturday and fifth in the Grand Prix, and in the closing laps he pushed George Russell very actively to take 4th place. The Alfa Romeo car allows him to drive confidently and has already earned the team more points than it has earned in both previous seasons. Although behind only four Grand Prix – an incredible success!

When we talk about Mercedes, it is clear that they have serious and complex problems with the car. It seems that they will no longer be able to win this championship, strangely enough to put forward such assumptions. It’s hard to believe, but for the first time in 10 years, none of the Mercedes drivers were able to reach the qualifying final. Definitely, the W13 machine proved to be inefficient in a number of areas, and this is due to its design flaws.

When Max was one lap ahead of Lewis Hamilton after 41 laps of the race, it was proof that the seven-time world champion and his team are going through very difficult times.

Mercedes understands the essence of the main problems, but there is less and less time to solve them. The trouble with Formula 1 is that the championship isn’t waiting for you, the races are going on and the team is running out of time.