Current:Home > Contact-usMax Verstappen holds off Lando Norris to win Emilia Romagna Grand Prix and extend F1 lead-LoTradeCoin
Max Verstappen holds off Lando Norris to win Emilia Romagna Grand Prix and extend F1 lead
View Date:2025-01-11 08:24:27
IMOLA, Italy (AP) — Max Verstappen held off a challenge from McLaren’s Lando Norris to win the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix on Sunday and extend his Formula 1 championship lead.
Verstappen started on pole position and stayed ahead of Norris at the start but was put under pressure by the McLaren driver again near the end and won by less than a second.
“Especially the last 10, 15 laps, I had no grip any more. I was really sliding a lot. I saw Lando closing in,” Verstappen said. “It’s very difficult when the tires are not working any more and you have to go flat out, so I couldn’t afford to make too many mistakes. Luckily, we didn’t and super happy, of course, to win here today.”
It was the defending champion’s fifth win in seven Grand Prix races this year and followed Verstappen being beaten by Norris in Miami two weeks ago.
Norris’ second place Sunday underlined the McLaren team’s credentials to be the closest challenger to Verstappen and Red Bull this season. “It hurts me to say it, but one or two more laps, I think I would have had him,” Norris said. “It would have been beautiful, but just not today.”
Charles Leclerc was third for Ferrari, the Italian team’s first podium finish at Imola since 2006.
It’s never easy to overtake on the narrow Imola track, and risk-taking was further discouraged this year when asphalt run-off areas on key corners were replaced with gravel traps.
Leclerc closed in on Norris mid-way through the race but made a mistake and ran across the grass, losing time.
Oscar Piastri had qualified second for McLaren but was dropped to fifth because of a penalty for impeding Kevin Magnussen in a Haas. He got ahead of Sainz at the pit stops and finished fourth, ahead of the Spanish driver.
Seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton and his teammate George Russell were sixth and seventh after a difficult weekend for Mercedes.
Verstappen’s Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez started 11th after a mistake in qualifying and finished eighth. His main impact on the race was when he briefly held up Norris and Leclerc after their pit stops, indirectly helping Verstappen.
Yuki Tsunoda took ninth for RB and Lance Stroll took the last point in 10th for Aston Martin.
With the victory, Verstappen opened up a 48-point standings lead over Leclerc, who moved above Perez into second.
___
AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
veryGood! (96383)
Related
- Beyoncé has released lots of new products. Here's a Beyhive gift guide for the holidays
- Ron DeSantis drops out of 2024 Republican presidential race, endorses Trump ahead of New Hampshire primary
- What a Joe Manchin Presidential Run Could Mean for the 2024 Election—and the Climate
- Iranian soldier kills 5 comrades in southeastern city where IS attack killed dozens, state TV says
- When does Spirit Christmas open? What to know about Spirit Halloween’s new holiday venture
- Proposed federal law would put limits on use of $50 billion in opioid settlements
- A temple to one of Hinduism’s holiest deities is opening in Ayodhya, India. Here’s what it means
- Ron DeSantis ends his struggling presidential bid before New Hampshire and endorses Donald Trump
- Can I take on 2 separate jobs in the same company? Ask HR
- Sarah, the Duchess of York, diagnosed with malignant melanoma found during breast cancer treatment
Ranking
- UConn, Kansas State among five women's college basketball games to watch this weekend
- Latest EPA assessment shows almost no improvement in river and stream nitrogen pollution
- Young ski jumpers take flight at country’s oldest ski club in New Hampshire
- Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders says I absolutely love my job when asked about being Trump's VP
- South Carolina lab recaptures 5 more escaped monkeys but 13 are still loose
- USPS stamp prices going up: Forever first-class stamps will cost 68 cents starting Jan. 21
- 18 killed when truck plunges into a ravine in southwestern Congo
- Turkey investigates 8 bodies that washed up on its Mediterranean coast, including at a resort
Recommendation
-
Eminem, Alanis Morissette, Sheryl Crow, N.W.A. and Janet Jackson get Songwriters Hall of Fame nods
-
Prosecutors say Kansas couple lived with dead relative for 6 years, collected over $216K in retirement benefits
-
Chiefs vs. Bills highlights: How KC held on to earn trip to another AFC title game
-
5 firefighters injured battling Pittsburgh blaze; 2 fell through roof, officials say
-
US inflation may have picked up in October after months of easing
-
NFL schedule today: Everything to know about playoff games on Jan. 21
-
Costco is selling dupe of luxury Anthropologie mirror, shoppers weigh in on social media
-
Former firefighter accused of planting explosives near California roadways pleads not guilty