2024 F1 Round 7 Emilia-Romagna GP: Verstappen holds off Norris by 0.725s, Leclerc takes home podium, Tsunoda tenth for more points

The Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, Round 7 of the 2024 Formula 1 season, was contested over 63 laps at Imola on the evening of 19 May, Beijing time. Starting from pole, Max Verstappen withstood a fierce pursuit from McLaren’s Lando Norris to take the chequered flag just 0.725s ahead. McLaren had pushed Red Bull to the limit for the second consecutive round, and this time Verstappen held on for a narrow victory.

Norris, promoted to second on the grid by Piastri’s qualifying penalty, launched a dramatic chase over the final ten laps. He repeatedly improved his personal best, eroding a deficit of more than seven seconds and finally getting within one second on the last lap, but it was too late. The Miami winner could not make it back-to-back victories, although the 0.725s margin was enough to leave Red Bull sweating.

Verstappen’s race had its own twists. Repeated track-limits infringements earned him a black-and-white warning flag, and when he pitted on Lap 24 he also reported abnormal wear on the front-left tyre. After rejoining, the Dutchman at one stage built a 7.5s advantage, only to watch Norris close in during the final stages. “Those ten laps felt so long,” Verstappen said with relief after the finish.

Ferrari gave the tifosi a home podium as Charles Leclerc finished third to the delight of the Imola grandstands. Team mate Sainz was less fortunate. He pitted on Lap 27 and lost out to Piastri, who had stopped four laps earlier and gained the position through the undercut. Sainz finished fifth, while Piastri recovered from fifth on the grid to fourth, bringing McLaren 12 points.

RB’s Yuki Tsunoda scored for the second race in succession but was unhappy with his start. Poor traction off the line cost him two places on the opening lap. He then made use of tyre-age differences to pass rivals in the middle of the race. The RB pair stopped on Laps 11 and 12, with Tsunoda successfully undercutting Hülkenberg, while Tsunoda passed Zhou on Lap 34. When Pérez and two other late-stopping cars pitted on Lap 38, Tsunoda briefly rose to eighth. But Pérez, on fresher and faster medium tyres, passed him on Lap 43, and Stroll followed on Lap 51 with tyres 25 laps younger. Tsunoda ultimately finished tenth, a lap behind the winner, to bring RB a valuable point at its home Italian race. “We must take a serious look at the start. It ruined the whole race,” he said afterwards.

Hamilton finished sixth and Russell, the only two-stopper in the top ten, seventh. Starting 11th, Pérez lost around five seconds after running into the Rivazza gravel on Lap 18 but still finished eighth. Stroll took ninth after a long opening stint. His Aston Martin team mate Alonso started from the pit lane after pre-race suspension set-up changes under parc fermé conditions and was classified 19th. Ricciardo was 13th, Zhou 15th, and Albon retired with a car problem on Lap 54.

The race took place in sunny conditions, with an air temperature of 25°C and a track temperature of 44°C at the start. Most drivers started on mediums and followed a one-stop strategy, switching to hard tyres.