How Ferrari's blunders gave Verstappen a lonely cruise at Imola
Ferrari was riding high coming into the first European round of the 2022 Formula 1 season, a first Imola victory since 2006 a distinct possibility. But the red cars ceded vital ground to Red Bull in the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, Max Verstappen romping to a comfortable win as Charles Leclerc spun away third place
Red Bull had been quicker than Ferrari every time it mattered heading into the grand prix at Imola last weekend. But it was only in front by a whisker. Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz therefore had the capacity to make their rivals break a sweat in the fight for victory during the full-length Sunday race.
Instead, facing the pressure of a home event, the Maranello pair made critical errors and enabled Max Verstappen to escape to the spoils in dominant fashion. In truth, after only a few hundred metres the defending champion never looked under threat.
Share Or Save This Story
Marko suggests Perez's improved F1 form because 2025 contract at stake
Russell explains how low-fuel runs expose Mercedes F1 inconsistency
Leclerc: No answer for "once in a season" Japan F1 qualifying struggle
Sainz: Now time to "speed up" talks to find 2025 F1 seat
Sargeant to race repaired F1 car in Suzuka; no spare Williams until Miami
Pirro leaves role as McLaren F1 academy chief
Wolff: Hamilton not 'looking over the fence' at Ferrari F1 form
The impatient pair who’d hoped to be a thorn in Red Bull’s side again
How real-time scrutineering ensures fair and consistent competition in motorsport
The day Button scored his 'best F1 win'... until next time!
New compound to thwart Porsche’s inspired Long Beach ‘no tires’ call
Surging Chase Briscoe says a win "is right around the corner"
Why F1 2026 worst-case fears could be key to new rules success
How the F1 driver market situation sits for each team with 2025 openings
What's been going wrong for Leclerc in F1's tiny margins qualifying game
What the Chinese GP's highlights reveal about its first F1 race for five years
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
