Pink Bull’s Max Verstappen had his second race win of the season with McLaren duo Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri finishing the highest three.
Lewis Hamilton, in his first Ferrari outing in Italy, completed fourth.
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Subsequent up within the European triple-header is the Monaco Grand Prix, from 23-25 Might.
Earlier than that, BBC Sport F1 correspondent Andrew Benson solutions your newest questions.
Why do folks get so excited that Max Verstappen “is profitable in an inferior automobile” when it is clearly not an inferior automobile? – Bob
Seven races into the season, there’s a respectable pattern from which to attract conclusions in regards to the strengths and weaknesses of the varied automobiles.
On pure qualifying tempo, McLaren have 4 pole positions to Pink Bull’s three, and the McLaren is faster on common by 0.138 seconds a lap, or 0.163%.
In race outcomes, McLaren’s Oscar Piastri has 4 wins, his team-mate Lando Norris one and Pink Bull’s Max Verstappen two.
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Simply distilling it right down to these uncooked statistics, it’s clear to see why “folks” would say the Pink Bull was an “inferior” automobile, as you place it. As a result of, on stability, it’s true that the McLaren is the higher automobile over a wider vary of circumstances.
However their relative efficiency modifications relying on monitor traits.
Particularly, the Pink Bull is powerful in high-speed corners. That is why its finest tracks of the season have been Suzuka, Jeddah and Imola.
This was not as clear on the time of the Japanese Grand Prix as it’s now, and that most likely explains the response on the time to Verstappen’s pole lap and win at Suzuka.
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That is to not diminish the standard of his pole there. It was really excellent; the McLaren was barely sooner at Suzuka and both Piastri or Norris might have overwhelmed it had they nailed their laps. However it’s further context.
Against this, when rear-tyre degradation is an enormous concern, and/or or the corners are slower on stability, the McLaren is a stronger relative bundle, particularly in races.
That is how they will go from humiliating Verstappen and Pink Bull in Miami to being overwhelmed honest and sq. in Imola – though had Piastri held on to the lead on the first nook on Sunday, he could effectively have been in a position to take a defensive win similarly to Verstappen’s in Japan.
On the identical time, the image is rarely fastened, as a result of F1 automobiles are prototypes, and Pink Bull have launched upgrades on the previous two races, whereas McLaren haven’t, actually.
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McLaren staff principal Andrea Stella put it like this on Sunday night in Imola: “Pink Bull have improved. They have been growing their automobile during the last couple of races, and I feel they’ve taken a step ahead.
“After which, in case you have a look at the velocity of the corners, and we examine it with the velocity in Miami, it is a fully totally different regime. The automobile operates in a totally totally different a part of the aerodynamic maps.
“We all know that our automobile is powerful in monitor layouts like Miami, or Bahrain, or China. However in the case of high-speed corners, like we’ve got right here in Imola, I do not suppose we get pleasure from any specific benefit.
“So, the monitor format, the progress of Pink Bull, I feel they’re the 2 components that make that we did not have a lot benefit right this moment.”
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Whereas it was nice to lastly see a Lando Norris v Oscar Piastri on-track battle, McLaren additionally threw away the possibility of a win by not making use of staff orders. Is it too early within the championship for this, or did they miss a trick by not letting Norris have a go at Max Verstappen after the security automobile? – Tom
The totally different conditions on the two groups contending for the drivers’ championship definitely present an attention-grabbing distinction.
On the one hand, Pink Bull are very a lot centered on Max Verstappen, whereas McLaren are attempting to be completely honest to each drivers.
This displays a basic distinction in strategy from the 2 groups, nevertheless it additionally arises virtually from circumstance.
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Verstappen is Pink Bull’s clear primary, however he’s additionally their solely driver persistently within the combine on the entrance.
McLaren cannot impose staff orders at this early stage of the season, as their drivers are carefully matched, and it might undermine the philosophy with which they go racing, and the pledges they’ve made to each.
Having stated that, there isn’t a proof in any respect to recommend McLaren “threw away the possibility of a win by not making use of staff orders” on Sunday in Imola.
Presumably the query is predicated on the ultimate a part of the race, after the safety-car restart, when Piastri on outdated tyres was second behind Verstappen, and Norris, on contemporary rubber, was third.
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The query implies that had McLaren ordered them to change positions instantly, Norris would have overwhelmed Verstappen to the win.
However why ought to anybody assume Norris would positively have handed Verstappen had he been behind him on the restart?
They have been on tyres of equal life and overtaking is tough at Imola. And at no stage within the race did both McLaren driver appear like they’d the tempo to problem Verstappen as soon as he was forward.
Piastri saved up with him within the first stint for some time, however started to drop again, and pitted early as a result of his tyres have been going off. And Norris made no floor on Verstappen as soon as he was away from George Russell’s Mercedes.
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The McLaren and Pink Bull have been very evenly matched in Imola – McLaren’s possibilities of the win have been successfully gone as soon as Piastri had misplaced the lead on the first nook.
Stella stated: “We tried to unlock varied eventualities to attempt to beat Max, however at no stage I feel we noticed that we had sufficient race tempo.
“Even with the ultimate security automobile, Lando might cross Oscar and attempt to push as a lot as attainable. Just about Max was responding to Lando. So right here to overhaul you want [a performance advantage of] 0.7-0.8secs. So I feel it’s what it’s. The principle issue stays the swap of place and the result of lap one.”
Are we beginning to see Adrian Newey’s affect at Aston Martin with their newest improve packages? – Tim
Aston Martin have been eager to minimize the concept of Newey having any involvement within the 2025 automobile since he joined firstly of March, emphasising that his precedence is the brand new guidelines being launched subsequent 12 months.
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However in an interview printed on the staff’s web site main as much as Imola, Newey stated he had been concerned to some extent.
“Lawrence [Stroll – team owner] understandably needs us to do in addition to we will in 2025, so there is a small staff nonetheless engaged on this 12 months’s automobile from an aerodynamics viewpoint,” Newey stated.
“I’ve had a number of lunchtime conversations with that small group, discussing the automobile and what we will do about it.”
So, the brief reply is, sure.
Aston Martin say the premise of the improve bundle launched final weekend was laid out across the time of the Australian Grand Prix – shortly after Newey joined. There isn’t a suggestion he was closely concerned in it.
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But when Newey can see some low-hanging fruit and straightforward wins on the 2025 automobile, why would he not say so? He is within the manufacturing unit, in spite of everything. And it appears that’s what is going on, with out distracting him an excessive amount of from subsequent 12 months.
Having stated that, it’s important to not overstate the affect of the Imola improve.
Sure, the staff had their finest qualifying efficiency of the 12 months up to now, with Fernando Alonso fifth on the grid and Lance Stroll eighth.
However there have been quite a lot of components in that. For one, they acquired their tyre technique proper, utilizing each medium and mushy tyres in qualifying in a manner no different staff did.
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It might be improper, although, to say their locations have been solely right down to utilizing mediums for his or her closing runs in Q2 and Q3 as a result of, as Alonso stated, they have been fast on each varieties of tyres.
Each drivers nailed their laps, which has not at all times been the case this 12 months.
And Imola was a high-speed circuit, the kind the place the Aston Martin has been most at house this 12 months.
In raw-pace phrases, this was the closest they’ve been to pole in 2025, at 101.019%.
However it was solely barely higher than Japan (101.051%) and Saudi Arabia (101.156%), at each of which Alonso certified thirteenth.
So, it was encouraging, however – no less than not but – a totally new daybreak.
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Alonso described the efficiency as “positively a step ahead” after the race, however he had additionally been cautious after qualifying, saying: “We have to hold the toes on the bottom, and perhaps the monitor traits, it does assist the Aston, so we’ll have to see in Monaco and Barcelona.”
Why a digital security automobile for Esteban Ocon’s retirement and the complete security for Kimi Antonelli’s after they stopped in the identical place? – Darren
On the face of it, these two eventualities did appear to recommend the kind of inconsistency that drivers and groups are asking the FIA to keep away from.
In reality, the totally different responses have been a results of them stopping in the identical place, the FIA says.
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Each stopped on the grass on the left-hand facet of the monitor on the run uphill from Tosa to Piratella. Ocon’s Haas was rolled backwards down the hill to the closest marshals’ put up, the place it was positioned out of hazard behind a barrier.
This was a comparatively simple job that might be completed shortly – therefore the digital security automobile.
However it meant that when Antonelli’s Mercedes stopped in roughly the identical place – really somewhat additional on – there was no area for it within the marshals’ put up behind it, as a result of Ocon’s automobile was already there.
That meant it wanted to be pushed uphill to the subsequent marshals’ put up, and that wanted a restoration car. And it took about 5 minutes for the restoration car to get there.
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The presence of the restoration car, and the longer delay, meant it tipped the necessity over to a full security automobile, within the race director’s view.
Throughout Imola qualifying, each Yuki Tsunoda and Franco Colapinto fully trashed their respective automobiles. Lower than 24hrs later, they begin the race. Is it a completely new automobile? Full/partial rebuild? Can they work on them in a single day? Spare components with the groups or bits flown in? What are the principles of the sport? – Keith
Tsunoda’s automobile required a brand new chassis, and Pink Bull additionally fitted a brand new engine. However there have been fairly a number of components that have been nonetheless in a position to be carried over, the staff say, regardless of the violence of the accident.
Pink Bull have been up till 2am fixing it. There’s a curfew in a single day, to make sure employees get ample relaxation, but when wanted groups can break this – they’ve three exemptions all year long earlier than receiving a penalty.
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On this case, whereas Pink Bull have been on the monitor outdoors the curfew hours, they didn’t break it as a result of they withdrew the automobile from what is called parc ferme – a regulation meaning modifications can’t be made between qualifying and race. And if they’re, the automobile begins from the pit lane.
Colapinto’s crash was nowhere close to as large, and Alpine didn’t change his chassis, nor did they match a brand new engine. However they modified a good variety of components, comparable to solely new entrance (however not rear) suspension, and a bunch of different components, which have been listed on official paperwork.
Groups usually are not allowed to take a completely assembled spare automobile, however they will take a spare chassis, and the components wanted to make a brand new automobile.
