A fourth and a sixth Place in Front of home crows saves Ferrari after a black Saturday that saw Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton shockingly excluded from Q3. Ultimately, Lewis Hamilton finished 4th and Charles Leclerc 6th, behind Albon. It was a tough race for local hero Kimi Antonelli, who was forced to retire due to a throttle issue.

On the podium, the Dutch national anthem played for a stunning Max Verstappen, who dominated at Imola. With this success on a demanding track like the Santerno circuit, the Dutchman is now fully back in the title fight.

On the McLaren front, satisfaction is mixed, considering that Piastri started from pole and Norris from the second row.

Team Principal Andrea Stella analyzes Verstappen’s start and his move on pole-sitter Piastri at the beginning of the race. Why didn’t Norris close the door on Max at Turn 1?

“You have to be very careful when attacking or defending to the limit, because here even the slightest mistake costs you. It’s different from other tracks where the run-off areas are asphalt. What really surprised us was Red Bull’s move. We tried, but we didn’t have the pace to strike back. I’m not talking about bad luck but about competitiveness. Red Bull brought updates for this race, and we’re also working to bring important upgrades in the coming races,” commented Andrea Stella, McLaren Team Principal.

“We’re working hard and even today we approached things with focus. I don’t speak of luck or misfortune—this is an extremely technical business. There are very objective factors at play, and of course, staying calm always helps.”