Winner: Max Verstappen
Max Verstappen’s performance often does not receive enough appreciation. Anyone who starts the race in the best car and can often control the pace from the front and doesn’t have to go completely to the limit during the race will have a hard time convincing the general public of their driving skills. But Imola showed once again that the Verstappen factor can make the difference.
Perez was already out of Q2 in the same car, and McLaren was probably even a little faster in qualifying. But slipstream and a fabulous lap made the difference. In the race he saved himself from Norris’s final sprint to the finish and withstood the pressure. Oh, and by the way, Verstappen also virtually won the 24 Hours at the Nürburgring this weekend. The enthusiastic sim racer spent five hours behind the wheel on Saturday evening and Sunday morning.
Loser: Fernando Alonso
Winner: McLaren
It will hurt Lando Norris and McLaren that victory in Imola slipped so narrowly through their fingers. In qualifying and the race, the MCL38 seemed to be the best car – even if only just -, but both times it lined up just behind Verstappen. The Miami win two weeks ago will probably ease the pain a bit. The fact that the car has now shown that it is at Red Bull level on a somewhat more conventional surface will help overcome the narrow defeat. That’s why they are among the winners. Because now it is finally clear: the McLaren will often be a force to be reckoned with this Formula 1 season, if not always. Monaco is the next route with completely different characteristics. The next chance to beat Verstappen.
Loser: Sergio Perez
Sergio Perez embarked on a journey through time this weekend. It was almost exactly a year ago for the Mexican when he also made a big dent in what had been a good start to the season at the European opener – back in Monaco. Things then went downhill rapidly and Perez couldn’t get out of his misery for months. We haven’t gotten that far yet, but the parallels are striking: of all things, the Mexican’s European opener went completely wrong. The qualifying result actually speaks for itself: Q2 exit while teammate Verstappen was on pole. There was hardly anything to be gained in the race on this route with the alternative strategy – at least without luck from the safety car. But apart from that, his racing pace wasn’t outstanding. Trip to the gravel bed included.
Winner: Lance Stroll
Second team qualifying victory in a row. For Lance Stroll is extraordinary, especially against Fernando Alonso. Whether the victory was only due to a weak weekend from Alonso is one thing. But you still have to give him credit for being able to maximize the Aston Martin’s potential. The top 4 teams were probably not within striking distance either way, so P9 is actually the best possible result.
Loser: Oliver Bearman
You may be asking yourself: what has a Formula 2 driver got to do here? But Oliver Bearman is still the favorite to win an F1 cockpit at Haas next year, so his weekend cannot go unmentioned. Or rather: his entire F2 season so far. This can be summarized under the category ‘bankruptcies, bad luck and mishaps’. In Imola he finally seemed to be able to start his race to catch up with a possible podium. But then he stalled his Dallara in the main race and his chance of points was gone. There was also an accident during training. Interim results: Six points after eight races. Without his good Ferrari performance in Saudi Arabia and his F1 training sessions with Haas, he would hardly be an issue for the 2025 premier class at the moment.