Max Verstappen secured the fastest lap at the F1 2025 Emilia Romagna GP as he banged out a 1:17.988 on his way to the chequered flag, crushing Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri for his second win of the year.
The defending world champion produced a ridiculous late-braking lunge at the Tamburello corner when the lights went out, allowing him to swoop around the outside of George Russell and past an overly cautious Piastri, making up for a poor getaway off the line.
From there, the Red Bull proved to have the advantage with the value of free air as he slowly opened up a gap to the Australian behind, managing the window as the team explored strategic options.
McLaren then handed the 27-year-old the victory on a silver platter by pitting Piastri early and forcing him to make his way through traffic, all the while the four-time champion extended his first stint on the mediums.
Then a fortunately timed virtual safety car moments after Norris pitted allowed the Dutchman to box and claim an 18-second advantage, something he could manage his race with easily.
But when a second safety car came out for the retirement of Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli, the picture drastically changed as both McLaren cars closed up whilst he came through the pit lane for a fresh set of tyres once again.
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Now with the win in jeopardy, he had to navigate the restart and did so in expert fashion by bolting through the second Rivazza corner to drop Piastri, posting a fastest lap of a 1:17.988 on his way to the finish line at the F1 2025 Emilia Romagna GP.
Verstappen reacts to his second win of the year in Imola
Now with two wins to his name in the 2025 Formula 1 season, the Red Bull star is making sure everyone knows if they’re going to take the title from him then he isn’t going to go quietly.
Car 1 proved precisely why he’s considered the class of the field on Lap 1 with that bold move, and he puts himself back into the title picture by gaining 10 points on Piastri in the driver standings and he’s very happy with the weekend.
“The start itself wasn’t particularly great,” Verstappen told F1TV. “But I was still on the outside line, the normal line.
“So I was like, ‘Well I’m going to try and send it around the outside,’ and it worked really well. That unleashed our pace because when we were in the lead, the car was good. I could look after my tyres. Massive improvement from Friday and I’m very pleased with that.”
