World champion Max Verstappen rekindled his title defence and acclaimed his resurgent Red Bull team after he led Sergio Perez home in a dominant one-two triumph in Ferrari’s backyard at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
In a rain-affected race, the 24-year-old Dutchman came home 16.5 seconds ahead of his Red Bull team-mate as Charles Leclerc and Ferrari endured a disappointing day in front of passionate home support at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari.
Leclerc, who started second on the grid, finished sixth after making a poor start and spinning in the closing laps while running third, allowing Lando Norris to take third for McLaren.
Carlos Sainz, meanwhile, crashed out after he and Daniel Ricciardo made contact on the opening lap in a disastrous opening for the duo.
“It was a difficult start as you saw,” said Sainz, “but there were still 63 laps left, and even if you lose a position to a McLaren like Lando [Norris] or whatever, it’s still a long race to go, especially in these conditions.
“But unfortunately, I think I left plenty of space for Daniel on the inside but he decided to get on the kerb and understeer into me and that was it for my race. Very unlucky – nothing I could do differently there, but it is what it is.
“I was the unlucky guy that for someone’s mistake, I had to pay. It’s how it is.”
After Saudi Arabia, it was Verstappen’s second win this season which has also included two retirements, and the 22nd win of his career.
He reeled off a ‘grand slam’ weekend with pole position, victory and fastest lap as well as victory in the sprint race.
“It was just the rebound we needed after the disappointment of Australia a couple of weeks ago,” said Horner.
Verstappen failed to finish in Melbourne although Perez was second to Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.
“It was a phenomenal performance because we took a bit of a risk with a couple of small parts we introduced on the car,” Christian Horner said post-race.
Verstappen moved up to second in the title race behind Leclerc, reducing his deficit from 45 points to 27 to set up the prospect of an intense duel this year between them and their teams.
“It’s always tough to achieve something like that, but already yesterday and the day before, we were on it,” said Verstappen.
“And it was looking like a strong weekend. You never know with the weather how competitive you are going to be, but I think we did very well and this one-two is very deserved.
“The start was very important, but afterwards, judging the conditions and when to swap to the slick tyres -- because in the lead you have to always dictate the pace.” Perez said he was delighted to bring smiles to the Red Bull team. “It was really intense,” he said.
“The most important thing today was not to make mistakes because with these conditions it was so tricky. To get a one-two, out there, is a great result for the team.
“I am very pleased to see everyone in my team smiling today and I am happy for Max.” Norris said: “An amazing race! An amazing weekend.
“I’m happy. The team deserves it. It was a mixture of tricky conditions, but we’ve been able to capitalise on that -- I love these conditions, so always do quite well.” George Russell produced a stirring drive for Mercedes to come home fourth after starting 11th, fending off Valtteri Bottas’s Alfa Romeo at the finish, while team-mate seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton finished a distant 13th.
Mercedes team chief Toto Wolff apologised to a disappointed Hamilton on team radio after the race.
“I am sorry for what you had to drive today,” said Wolff.
“I know it was undriveable - this was a terrible race.” “No worries, Toto,” Hamilton responded. “Just keep working hard.” “We will come out of this,” said Wolff, who added later that Mercedes “are not good enough for a world champion - and just need to fix the car.” AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda finished seventh ahead of four-time champion Sebastian Vettel in an Aston Martin, Kevin Magnussen of Haas and Lance Stroll of Aston Martin.
Verstappen surged into the lead from pole position.
Leclerc, starting second, was passed by the Dutchman, Perez and Norris before Daniel Ricciardo in a McLaren tangled with Sainz at the first chicane.
It was a second consecutive early exit for Sainz after his misery in Melbourne. Hamilton, who had been reluctant to pit, was impeded by Estaban Ocon’s Alpine, but avoided a collision while Perez, who stopped on lap 19, managed to retain second place ahead of a charging Leclerc.
Ocon was given a five seconds penalty for his unsafe release. By half-distance, Verstappen was cruising with a 10-second cushion ahead of Perez and Leclerc, frustrated in third.
On lap 41 came Hamilton’s most humbling moment when he was lapped by Verstappen as he battled for 13th with Pierre Gasly’s Alpha Tauri.
Leclerc pitted on lap 50 for softs, dropping to fourth behind Norris. Perez followed on 51, as Leclerc passed the McLaren and Verstappen one lap later, retaining a 13-second lead.
The Monegasque charged hard to pass Perez on lap 53, but spun off at Variante Alfa, damaging a front wing.
He pitted, re-joining eighth as Norris inherited third and Russell took fourth, resisting Bottas in the final laps.
Emilia Romagna Grand Prix results:
1. Max Verstappen (NED/Red Bull) 1hr 32:07.986, 2. Sergio Perez (MEX/Red Bull) at 16.527, 3. Lando Norris (GBR/McLaren-Mercedes) 34.834, 4. George Russell (GBR/Mercedes) 42.506, 5. Valtteri Bottas (FIN/Alfa Romeo) 43.181, 6. Charles Leclerc (MON/Ferrari) 56.072, 7. Yuki Tsunoda (JPN/AlphaTauri-Red Bull) 1:01.110, 8. Sebastian Vettel (GER/Aston Martin-Mercedes) 1:10.892, 9. Kevin Magnussen (DEN/Haas-Ferrari) 1:15.260, 10. Lance Stroll (CAN/Aston Martin-Mercedes) 1 lap, 11. Alexander Albon (THA/Williams-Mercedes) 1 lap, 12. Pierre Gasly (FRA/AlphaTauri-Red Bull) 1 lap, 13. Lewis Hamilton (GBR/Mercedes) 1 lap, 14. Esteban Ocon (FRA/Alpine-Renault) 1 lap, 15. Zhou Guanyu (CHN/Alfa Romeo) 1 lap, 16. Nicholas Latifi (CAN/Williams-Mercedes) 1 lap, 17. Mick Schumacher (GER/Haas-Ferrari) 1 lap, 18. Daniel Ricciardo (AUS/McLaren-Mercedes) 1 lap
Fastest lap: Max Verstappen (NED/Red Bull) 1:18.446 on the 55th lap (average speed: 248.364 km/h)
Did not finish: Carlos Sainz (ESP/Ferrari), Fernando Alonso (ESP/Alpine-Renault)
World championship standings:
Drivers
1. Charles Leclerc (MON) 86 pts, 2. Max Verstappen (NED) 59, 3. Sergio Perez (MEX) 54, 4. George Russell (GBR) 49, 5. Carlos Sainz (ESP) 38, 6. Lando Norris (GBR) 35, 7. Lewis Hamilton (GBR) 28, 8. Valtteri Bottas (FIN) 24, 9. Esteban Ocon (FRA) 20, 10. Kevin Magnussen (DEN) 15, 11. Daniel Ricciardo (AUS) 11, 12. Yuki Tsunoda (JPN) 10, 13. Pierre Gasly (FRA) 6, 14. Sebastian Vettel (GER) 4, 15. Fernando Alonso (ESP) 2, 16. Zhou Guanyu (CHN) 1, 17. Alexander Albon (THA) 1, 18. Lance Stroll (CAN) 1, 19. Mick Schumacher (GER) 0, 20. Nico Hulkenberg (GER) 0, 21. Nicholas Latifi (CAN) 0
Constructors 1. Ferrari 124 pts, 2. Red Bull 113, 3. Mercedes 77, 4. McLaren-Mercedes 46, 5. Alfa Romeo 25, 6. Alpine-Renault 22, 7. AlphaTauri-Red Bull 16, 8. Haas-Ferrari 15, 9. Aston Martin-Mercedes 5, 10. Williams-Mercedes
