Lap 31 of 63: The virtual safety car has retreated (so to speak), but we may see some penalties for the ducking and diving in the pits. Lap 30 of 63: Wacky Races vibes as almost half the field steam into the pits, with cars arriving and leaving nose-to-nose. Leclerc, who was just about to execute his two-stop strategy, is cursing his luck. “Why do I always get [effed] by the safety car?” he asks the team radio. Lap 29 of 63: Virtual safety car! Norris pits, returning to the track in seventh – but Esteban Ocon is parked up on the grass, and the yellow flag is waved. This could work out very nicely for Verstappen, who is going to pit with the virtual safety car in effect. Lap 28 of 63: Isack Hadjar of Racing Bulls is running in fourth, and given the task of keeping Piastri behind him – but is unable to do so for very long. Albon feels his team are pushing things with no stop yet, but he’s reassured that the Williams pace is still decent. Lap 27 of 63: Verstappen has built a nine-second lead over Lando Norris, with Albon a further 14 seconds back. Top ten: 1. Verstappen 2. Norris 3. Albon 4. Hadjar 5. Piastri* 6. Antonelli 7. Hamilton 8. Leclerc* 9. Hulkenberg 10. Bearman *Pitted once Lap 26 of 63: Russell is able to overtake Tsunoda and creep up to 11th –good news for the sole Mercedes fan in the stands, waving a silver flag while surrounded by a sea of red. Lap 25 of 63: Hamilton, currently sixth and yet to pit, is pushing to get beyond Antonelli – but Oscar Piastri is looming behind them both. Lap 23 of 63: Leclerc gets beyond Ollie Bearman and is up to ninth place, while George Russell says he’s “struggling” with the rear of his Mercedes. His team can’t immediately tell what the issue is. Lap 22 of 63: The drivers who pitted between laps 10 and 15 – when the mediums were really struggling – may be regretting it now, as those in front have been able to get another 10 laps out of them. Lap 21 of 63: Carlos Sainz has pitted and dropped to 14th, but his Williams teammate, Alex Albon, is still moving fast enough and could stick to a one-stop plan. Lap 20 of 63: “The key for us is free air and going long,” Norris tells McLaren as his teammate keeps working his way through the pack. That would suggest he wants to stay out for longer than Verstappen. Lap 19 of 63: Verstappen leads from Norris, then come Albon, Hadjar, Antonelli, Hamilton, Hulkenberg, Colapinto – but none of them have pitted yet. Lap 18 of 63: Piastri gets into DRS range heading into the 18th lap, and while Tsunoda tries to close the door, he gets past on the outside. He is currently 32 seconds behind Verstappen, who has yet to pit. Lap 17 of 63: The top 10 drivers are those who haven’t pitted; at the back of that group is Tsunoda, who’s been asked by Red Bull to try and slow up the man directly behind him – Oscar Piastri. Lap 15 of 63: It’s looking like a two-stop strategy for many of these drivers, although Red Bull are yet to respond. Verstappen leads Norris by 10 seconds, with Alex Albon currently running in third. Hamilton is sixth on his original hard tyres although even he is starting to struggle for pace. Lap 14 of 63: A ragged pit-stop for Piastri, which will cost him a few seconds, plus any hope of undercutting Verstappen. Lap 13 of 63: Alonso and Leclerc both pit, with the Ferrari returning and setting a new fastest lap – he’s down in 13th but ahead of Russell. Lap 12 of 63: Russell pits seven or eight laps early, his medium tires quickly shredded beyond use. Piastri is also concerned, saying “Plan A is looking very ambitious.” Lap 11 of 63: Norris overtakes Russell! The McLaren makes light work of getting on to the virtual podium, twisting to get past George Russell at the Villeneuve chicane and holding his ground around the next bend. Lap 10 of 63: Carlos Sainz is in sixth but pushing Fernando Alonso in what is a crowded pack behind George Russell. Lando Norris is on the heels of the Mercedes man, who tells the team radio he’s pushing too hard to make his pit-stop target. Lap 8 of 63: This is Red Bull’s 400th Formula One race and it’s going well with Verstappen out in front – although Tsunoda is only 19th after starting from the pit lane. Lap 6 of 63: Here’s how they stand early on… 1. Verstappen 2. Piastri 3. Russell 4. Norris 5. Alonso 6. Sainz 7. Albon 8. Stroll 9. Leclerc 10. Hadjar 11. Antonelli 12. Hamilton Lap 5 of 63: George Russell wasn’t impressed by Piastri’s start, asking “what is he doing?” over the Mercedes team radio. Lap 4 of 63: Verstappen sets the fastest lap and has opened a 1.5s lead over Piastri. Was the Australian too cautious in his start, or was Verstappen simply too good? Lap 2 of 63: Alpine’s Pierre Gasly runs wide and onto the gravel – as will happen if you mistime your passing move – and drops down the field. Lap 1 of 63: Not a huge amount of shuffling further down the pack, although Charles Leclerc has moved up to 10th. Kimi Antonelli, who is from nearby Bologna, is testing fans’ loyalties by getting in front of Lewis Hamilton. Verstappen gets alongside Piastri at the first turn and times his move perfectly to get in front at the Tamburello chicane. The defending champion leads – could that be a big moment in the title race? George Russell was pushing for second but is boxed in by Verstappen’s move. The formation lap is under way, and we’ll get a look at tyre strategies – everyone above Lewis Hamilton in 12th is starting on mediums, while the Briton starts on hard tyres, looking at a later pit stop than those ahead of him on the grid. Kimi Antonelli and Yuki Tsunoda are also starting on hards. It’s sunny and a balmy 23 degrees at Imola, with a record 240,000 crowd in attendance. Pre-race thoughts from Lando Norris: “I just want to have a fun race and to try and get forward and do some overtakes, I’m still aiming for a podium and a good result.” Imola is a famously tricky track for overtaking, so Norris will be looking to make an early move. And George Russell, who starts one place ahead of Norris in third: The aim has definitely got to be the podium, how we achieve that I’m not too sure. We need to see at the beginning, obviously Lando is starting behind and I will do my best to keep him there.” Lewis Hamilton is enjoying his first race in Italy as a Ferrari driver, even if their car is badly underperforming. “It’s such an honour to be here, I’m filming everything because it’s the first time seeing everyone here,” Hamilton said. “I really want to give [the fans]. the best race possible today. This is like nothing I’ve ever experienced, so I will take that energy and keep pushing. We never give up and we’re going to get there.” Ollie Bearman is the back marker on the grid, but Haas have asked the FIA for written clarification of the decision that saw their driver just miss out on a place in Q2. Bearman had his fastest lap deleted when he crossed the line a fraction after the first qualifying session was stopped due to Franco Colapinto’s heavy crash. Haas said they had sought clarification after discussions with the FIA on Saturday night. “We similarly asked what measures the FIA/Race Control can put in place moving forward to ensure that this situation is avoided in the future to the benefit of F1,” the team added, in quotes reported by Reuters. The FIA said Bearman crossed the line 3.3 seconds after the red flag signal was shown but the driver said he had not seen a light. “We get the red light on our dash. That for me didn’t happen until quite a way after I crossed the line,” he said. “I feel like once they make a decision, even if it’s clearly wrong, they’re not going to turn back on it.” Colapinto, who has replaced Jack Doohan in the Alpine paddock, picked up a one-place grid penalty for inadvertently entering the pit fast lane too early after Yuki Tsunoda’s crash. The Argentinian will now start in 16th place. Imola’s Formula One history is tinged with tragedy, and the circuit’s future looks uncertain with no deal agreed beyond this year – but it has still delivered some extraordinary moments: Oscar Piastri (McLaren) Max Verstappen (Red Bull) George Russell (Mercedes) Lando Norris (McLaren) Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) Carlos Sainz (Williams) Alex Albon (Williams) Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) Isack Hadjar (RacingBulls) Pierre Gasly (Alpine) Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) Gabriel Bortoleto (Sauber) Liam Lawson (RacingBulls) Franco Colapinto (Alpine) Nico Hülkenberg (Sauber) Esteban Ocon (Haas) Oliver Bearman (Haas) Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull) – pit lane Welcome to Imola, where Oscar Piastri continues his world title tilt on pole after just pipping the defending champion, Max Verstappen, in qualifying. The Thunder from Down Under (as I’m christening Piastri in the hope it catches on) has won four of the season’s first six races, including the last three in Bahrain, Jeddah and Miami. The Australian appears to have overtaken Lando Norris as McLaren’s leading man, but can he continue his red-hot grand prix form as F1 begins its European swing? Norris has endured another frustrating weekend trailing his teammate, and starts fourth on the grid today, with Mercedes’ George Russell alongside him in third. Verstappen, pole-sitter in the last two races but beaten by Piastri, will be eager to respond in kind with a third straight win at Imola; his Red Bull teammate, Yuki Tsunoda, starts from the pit lane after a big crash in qualifying. Aston Martin impressed, with Fernando Alonso fifth and Lance Stroll eighth, sandwiching the Williams of Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon. As for Ferrari, returning to home turf has been a chastening experience, with Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton both failing to make it out of Q2 and starting 11th and 12th today. Can they give fans at Imola anything to cheer, or will Italy have to start claiming Piastri as one of their own? We’ll find out soon enough; lights out at 2pm BST.
Author: Niall McVeigh