F1 as it happened - Max Verstappen wins Emilia-Romagna GP as Lewis Hamilton fights back to second
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Updated 18/04/2021 at 15:38 GMT
Hamilton failed to convert pole position into a second straight victory as Verstappen underlined his title credentials with a win at Imola. There was also a podium finish for Norris who had good pace all weekend with Charles Leclerc crossing the line in fourth position as Ferrari put in a good showing.
Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) et Max Verstappen (Red Bull) au contact (GP d'Emilie-Romagne)
Image credit: Getty Images
Verstappen wins the Emilia-Romagna GP!
Nobody could get close to Verstappen as he clinches his first race victory of the season! Hamilton salvages a second place finish after a bit of a disaster midway through and Norris takes his second podium in F1!
62/63 - Vettel out!
Vettel is forced to retire in the second last lap of the race due to gearbox problems. It has been another afternoon to forget for the former world champion. It's been a tough start to the season for Aston Martin.
61/63 - Norris v Leclerc
Norris still has some work to do to clinch this podium finish as Leclerc is on the back on the McLaren with just two laps remaining. Verstappen is out of sight in P1 and he will claim his first race victory of the season.
59/63 - Hamilton into P2!
Hamilton up into second place! That had been coming. Hamilton was much closer to Norris down the pit straight and he uses DRS well to pass the McLaren and the salvage job looks like being a good one for the world champion.
58/63 - Hamilton has DRS!
Getting tight now! Six laps until the chequered flag and Hamilton is within striking range of Norris! The McLaren is doing a good job of putting his car in a good position on the track. He's making it difficult for the world champion to get past him.
57/63 - Norris unhappy!
Norris is now saying that his rear tyres are fading dramatically. It's going to take a lot of work for the McLaren to keep Hamilton behind him until the end of the race. At what point will Hamilton be within striking distance? Seven laps to go.
56/63 - Hamilton past Leclerc!
Hamilton into P2! The world champion finally gets the job done on Leclerc and he's back up into the podium places! This has been a fantastic salvage job from Hamilton after ending up in the wall midway through the race.
55/63 - Leclerc doing Norris favours
The scrap right now is between Leclerc and Hamilton and that is to the liking of Norris who has found a little bit more time to give himself more of a cushion in P2. Can the McLaren see this through to the end? He has some work to do!
53/63 - Podium contest
The real excitement now is in the contest for the podium. Hamilton is trying to get close enough to Leclerc to make a pass on the Ferrari. Meanwhile, Norris is struggling to maintain his pace in the final phase of the race.
51/63 - Hamilton on the attack
It would appear that Verstappen has this one in the bag now, but P2 is very much still in play for Hamilton. Norris has been on the McLaren team radio complaining about some vibrations.
50/63 - Hamilton is through!
Hamilton up into P4! The world champion had to expend more energy in getting past Sainz than he would have liked, but he's through and there is now a train of cars ahead of him to attack. Leclerc and Norris within his sights.
47/63 - Hamilton on Sainz
It looked like Hamilton was on the charge a few laps ago, but he has struggled to get to the back of Sainz. The Ferrari driver is doing a good job of maintaining the gap on the world champion.
46/63 - Verstappen is off!
Verstappen now has a nine-second lead on Norris in P1. This has been a race in difficult conditions, but with the track drying and the Red Bull the best car out there at the moment it would take a big twist for the Dutchman not to win this.
45/63 - Perez on Vettel!
The Mexican uses DRS to get within striking distance of Vettel, but there was no way past the Aston Martin. The pressure is on Perez to make the best of a bad situation by finishing in the points.
43/63 - Salvage operation
Verstappen would appear to be out of sight in P1, at least for Hamilton to be able to catch him and pass him, but it's entirely possible that he could still finish in second place which would be quite the salvage job given how he was down in P9.
42/63 - Hamilton clears Ricciardo!
Hamilton up into fifth place! The defending world champion gets past Ricciardo and his charge back to the head of the pack continues. Hamilton is making very good use of the DRS.
39/63 - Hamilton passes Stroll!
Here we go! Hamilton uses the DRS to get the run on Stroll and he takes P6 up the inside of the Canadian. That was an exceptional move from the world champion. So important that he got past Stroll there.
38/63 - Perez has overcooked it!
Perez spins off! The Mexican gets a little bit wide, clips the kerb and spins. He has managed to get his Red Bull back on the track, but Perez is down in P14. He was putting pressure on Leclerc for a podium!
36/63 - Norris flying!
Norris has really lit up his soft tyres at the restart, but the gamble from McLaren is that he has to last until the end of the race on them. There will have to be some tyre management at some point.
35/63 - We're racing again!
Rolling start at Imola! Norris hasn't wasted any time in passing Leclerc up into P2! The McLaren has had some serious pace all weekend and he is now closest to Verstappen at the head of the pack!
34/63 - RED FLAG!
Session has been stopped! There is so much debris around Bottas and Russell's cars that they have stopped the race to clear it all up. No way for the rest of the pack to make it through the wreckage.
33/63 - Bottas and Russell crash!
Bottas and Russell out of the race! Russell has smashed into the side of Bottas and the two drivers are out! Russell has blamed Russell and Russell has blamed Bottas! Looked like Russell's fault to me!
32/63 - HAMILTON IN THE WALL!
Disaster for Hamilton! The world champion has gone wide and has got stuck in the gravel trap! Hamilton manages to get back on the track, but he has lost a lot of time and has sustained some damage.
31/63 - At the half-way point...
As it stands... 1) Verstappen 2) Hamilton 3) Norris 4) Perez 5) Sainz 6) Ricciardo 7) Stroll 8) Bottas 9) Russell 11) Raikkonen
30/63 - Perez serves his penalty!
Perez is now into the pits to serve his 10-second penalty. Red Bull were allowed to do some work to his car, but that stoppage means that Norris is now into P3. Is the McLaren set to finish on the podium?
29/63 - Hamilton pits!
Verstappen keeps the lead! It's a slower pit stop than Hamilton would have hoped for and the overcut hasn't worked for the defending world champion! Hamilton now on the medium tyres.
28/63 - Verstappen pits!
Red Bull blink first! Verstappen is into the pits and has been put on the slicks! What's the strategy from Hamilton and Mercedes? They're going to keep him out there for the time being!
27/63 - Hamilton gaining!
Now just two seconds between the front two! Hamilton has closed the gap on Verstappen to just over a second-and-a-half and there appears to activity in the Red Bull garage. Are they about to pit the race leader?
26/63 - Bottas getting restless
Bottas has made clear that he wants to come off the dry tyres, but Mercedes are holding their nerve. It's been a difficult afternoon for the Finn so far. He's running in P9!
25/63 - Hamilton catching Max!
Gap down to three seconds! All of a sudden, Hamilton has found some genuine pace and has narrowed the gap on Verstappen to just three seconds! It was over five seconds just two laps ago!
24/63 - Vettel serves his penalty!
Vettel comes into the pits for the second time in just three laps and he's lost around 43 seconds by having to serve that 10-second stop-go penalty. That puts the former world champion out in P17.
23/63 - Vettel penalty!
10-second stop-go penalty! Vettel has been handed a punishment due to Aston Martin breaching regulations before the race. It appears his wheels were not fitted at the five-minute signal.
22/63 - Vettel on to the slicks!
Vettel was running down in P14 and so Aston Martin have made the tactical gamble to put him on the slicks. They are the first team to roll the dice. Let's see how this works! A lot of rivals will be watching what happens.
20/63 - McLaren strategy
Norris has been told McLaren don't want to be the first team on to the slicks and so they are going to get as much out of the intermediates as they can. Norris has already pulled out four seconds on Ricciardo!
19/63 - Verstappen concern
Verstappen is sounding a little fraught on the Red Bull team radio which is slightly surprising given that he has a five-second lead over Hamilton.
18/63 - McLaren swap!
"Daniel, we need to swap positions. We need to see Lando's pace in clean air," comes the message from McLaren. They are going to put Norris in front of Ricciardo. That's probably a good decision. Norris has the greater pace.
17/63 - Fastest lap!
Hamilton has just set a new fastest lap. There is word from Mercedes that the tyres on both Hamilton and Bottas' car have only just reached temperature! It's becoming a bit of a two horse race at the front of the pack. Leclerc is being left behind.
16/63 - Gasly into the pits!
The gamble from AlphaTauri to put Gasly on the wet tyres for the start of the race didn't pay off at all and so the Frenchman has been put on a different set. Is he on the intermediates now?
15/63 - Another Sainz spin!
Sainz off the track at Tosa! That's the second or third time that the Spaniard has spun off and we're only 15 laps into the race! Sainz is half-a-minute behind his teammate at the moment.
14/63 - Russell into the points!
Russell passes Gasly! Excellent pass from the Williams on Gasly and Russell is up into the points. Keep in mind that he was running in 10th last season before it all went a bit wrong. Can he make amends?
13/63 - Perez penalty!
10-second stop-go penalty for Perez! The stewards have handed a punishment to the Mexican for overtaking behind the Safety Car. Meanwhile, there is no penalty for either Hamilton or Verstappen.
12/63 - McLaren tussle!
Norris passes Ricciardo but then the Australian comes back at the youngster! Brilliant to see McLaren let their two drivers race like this. Will there come a time when Ricciardo has to let the faster Norris past, though?
11/63 - Rain coming!
"There's a bit more rain now," comes the message over the AlphaTauri team radio to Gasly who is on the wet tyres.
10/63 - Lando is flying!
Norris up into P6! This is fantastic driving from Norris who clears Gasly into Turn 2 and now has his teammate Ricciardo in his sights. Of course, Lando had exceptional pace in qualifying yesterday.
9/63 - Stewards update
The race stewards have noted the incident between Hamilton and Verstappen on the opening lap, but that doesn't necessarily mean that they will investigate it. It would be harsh if either driver was handed some sort of penalty.
8/63 - Verstappen pushing!
Verstappen has stretched his legs at the front of the pack and has already established a three-second lead over Hamilton who is under pressure from Leclerc. The Mercedes isn't handling these conditions too well! Hamilton's damage hasn't helped.
7/63 - Racing again!
The Safety Car is in! Hamilton has a look at Verstappen as we start racing again, but his Mercedes is struggling for grip due to the damage he suffered in the first lap.
6/63 - Schumacher pits
Poor Schumacher. He was forced to do a couple laps without a front wing because the debris from his crash was blocking the pit lane and needed to be cleared. But he's now in the pits and the Safety Car is about to come in soon.
4/63 - Schumacher crash!
Schumacher into the wall! What happened there? Schumacher was trying to keep his tyres warm and has somehow spun into the wall at the end of the pit lane. We're stil under the Safety Car!
3/63 - Still under yellow flags
We're just catching up with what happened in the first lap as the race stewards get rid of Latifi's car off the side of the track. Hamilton might have picked up some damage on his floor in that incident with Verstappen.
2/63 - Safety car!
Latifi is out! The Williams is into the barrier after making contact with Mazepin and we're under the Safety Car for the time being. Yellow flags!
1/63 - LIGHTS OUT!
Verstappen leads! Brilliant driving from the Dutchman! The Red Bulls got off quickly from the line, they flanked Hamilton on either side and Verstappen passes! There was contact between Verstappen and Hamilton as the world champion bumped over the kerb!
14:03 - Leclerc spins!
The drama continues before the race has even started as Leclerc spins in these wet conditions! He needs to regain his position in the grid otherwise he will start in the pit lane! Leclerc got away with one there.
14:02 - Formation lap!
There's so much spray on the track, but the drivers have started their formation lap. This wet start should be good! What sort of race are we going to get? Will the pre-race chaos continue once we get under way?
14:00 - Vettel starting from the pit lane!
Some news ahead of the formation lap and Vettel will be starting from the pit lane as Aston Martin haven't finished working on the car five minutes before lights out. Same issues with the brakes as Stroll.
13:55 - Let's race!
There's so much going on that it's difficult to keep track. The gazebos and umbrellas are down on the grid. It's time to get racing in the Emila-Romagna Grand Prix!
Can Hamilton keep the two Red Bulls behind him at bay into the first couple turns? Can Norris show the same sort of pace that very nearly saw him land it on the front row yesterday?
13:50 - Stroll sweating!
There's still a lot of work being done on Stroll's brakes by the Aston Martin engineers. It's still not clear what happened and why there was so much fire when Stroll was only driving through the pit lane.
13:45 - Anthem time!
The drivers are at the start line for the Italian national anthem, which I think we can all agree is the best national anthem around. I don't want to hear anyone suggest Les Marseilles!
The rain continues to fall at Imola. This will be worth it for the wet start alone!
13:40 - Title race!
Hamilton clinched the 99th pole of his career in qualifying yesterday, but he has two Red Bulls behind him waiting for any slip up.
Perez is in P2 after putting himself on the front row for the first time in his career, but it's all eyes on the developing title fight between Verstappen and Hamilton. The Dutchman will fancy his chances in every race this season!
13:35 - Chaos!
We're not even at the formation lap and it's already chaotic at Imola! Valtteri Bottas has been informed that he has a rear puncture while Lance Stroll's are on fire!
Stroll was told to drive quickly through the pit lane to put out the fire in his brakes! What a crazy solution! It's madness out there!
13:30 - Rain at Imola!
Drama before we have even reached the formation lap as there's rain at Imola! That could put the cat among the pigeons! We have a wet race at a classic circuit!
Fernando Alonso has spun off already and has been rolled back into the Alpine garage. He needs a new front wing after coming off at Tosa! That just shows you how difficult the conditions are!
Welcome to our live updates
Who do you think is going to win today? Will Lewis Hamilton produce another victory from pole?
Recap from qualifying
Hamilton took his 99th career pole ahead of the Imola Grand Prix on Sunday, with Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen completing the top three.
Mercedes' Hamilton is going in search of a record-breaking eighth F1 title this season, and will hope to build on his winning start in Bahrain with a win in Italy. Team-mate Valtteri Bottas qualified in eighth place.
Hamilton produced the pole time of one minute 14.411 seconds with his first flying lap of the final session.
And Hamilton was happy to embrace the challenge with two Red Bull contenders behind him.
Reaction from qualifying
"I love it, I love the challenge!" Hamilton said after clinching pole.
"We've got the two Red Bulls there, I think it's definitely going to make strategy harder, and they've got great race pace.
"We knew in Bahrain that it was going to be close and it is going to be close throughout this season and it’s going to take laps like that, it’s going to take us as a team performing as close to perfection as possible," said Hamilton.
"I know that’s kind of the idea going into most weekends but we can’t afford any slip-ups and I think so far we’ve really been firing on all cylinders and we still are hunting, believe it or not."
"I think for all of us we’re operating at such a high level, the differences are milliseconds between us all and we could all go back and look at our data and say we can go faster. But at the end of the day it’s what you do on that one moment that counts and so that’s what we really try and focus on."
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