The Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix was a race of rapidly-changing fortunes for many drivers as the interruptions played havoc with their strategies.
Who decided their own fate on this demanding track – and who were victims of fortune? Here’s RaceFans’ verdict on the full field:
Lando Norris
Qualified: 4th (3 places behind team mate, +0.292s)
Grid: 4th (3 places behind team mate)
Start: Held position
Strategy: Two-stop (M-H-H)
Finished: 2nd (1 place ahead of team mate)
▼ Hadjar’s error didn’t help him in Q3 but real time loss on final run was later in lap
▶ Got past Russell fairly quickly early on
▶ Pace in clear air was a match for Verstappen, but pitting one lap before VSC hurt him
▲ Passed Piastri for second place with tyre advantage
7/10: Only qualifying let him down
Oscar Piastri
Qualified: 1st (3 places ahead of team mate, -0.292s)
Grid: 1st (3 places ahead of team mate)
Start: -1 place
Strategy: Two-stop (M-H-H)
Finished: 3rd (1 place behind team mate)
▲ Dodged traffic at end of Q3 to snatch pole from Verstappen
▼ Allowed Verstappen to pass him around the outside at Tamburello at the start
▶ Race was compromised by early pit stop
▶ Passed a string of cars to recover second place, but couldn’t contain Norris
6/10: Strong again in qualifying, race pace was good, shocking lack of awareness at start
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Charles Leclerc
Qualified: 11th (1 place ahead of team mate, -0.161s)
Grid: 11th (1 place ahead of team mate)
Start: +1 place
Strategy: Two-stop (M-H-H)
Finished: 6th (2 places behind team mate)
▶ Happier with car than Hamilton after second practice
▶ Narrowly fell short of Q3 place
▲ Passed Gasly for 10th after start
▶ Early pit stop left him on compromised strategy
▶ Cynically forced Albon off when he’d lost the corner to him at Tamburello
▶ Correctly yielded place to Albon on final lap
6/10: Easy to understand his frustration with pace, strategy and luck
Lewis Hamilton
Qualified: 12th (1 place behind team mate, +0.161s)
Grid: 12th (1 place behind team mate)
Start: -1 place
Strategy: Two-stop (H-M-H)
Finished: 4th (2 places ahead of team mate)
▶ Felt the team made good set-up changes and was closer to Leclerc than usual
▶ Started on harder tyres and couldn’t keep Antonelli behind on lap one
▶ Made both pit stops while race was neutralised, gaining time
▲ Passed drivers in last two stints to recover fourth place
7/10: The cards fell his way on race day and he took full advantage
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Max Verstappen
Qualified: 2nd (18 places ahead of team mate)
Grid: 2nd (18 places ahead of team mate)
Start: +1 place
Strategy: Two-stop (M-H-H)
Finished: 1st (9 places ahead of team mate)
▶ Narrowly lost pole position to Piastri on final run in Q3
▲ Didn’t get off the line well but pulled off a superb pass on Piastri
▶ Controlled the race from there on
8/10: Win never looked in doubt after great first-lap pass
Yuki Tsunoda
Qualified: 20th (18 places behind team mate)
Grid: 20th (18 places behind team mate)
Start: +1 place
Strategy: One-stop (H-M)
Finished: 10th (9 places behind team mate)
▶ Over a second off Verstappen in final practice
▼ Crashed heavily on first run in Q1 and had to start from pits
▶ Made little progress from pit lane early on
▼ Fortunate to avoid any consequences when he clipped Sainz at Tamburello
▶ Sticking to a one-stop strategy allowed him to take final point from Hulkenberg
3/10: Compromised his race with qualifying crash and made too little progress
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Andrea Kimi Antonelli
Qualified: 13th (10 places behind team mate, +0.438s)
Grid: 13th (10 places behind team mate)
Start: +1 place
Strategy: One-stop (H-M)
Finished: Not classified
▼ Eliminated in Q2 after finding the soft tyre tricky
▶ Picked up a place from Hamilton at the start
▼ Race pace wasn’t a match for Russell’s
▶ Retired with throttle problem
5/10: Consistently behind Russell in one of his weaker performances so far
George Russell
Qualified: 3rd (10 places ahead of team mate, -0.438s)
Grid: 3rd (10 places ahead of team mate)
Start: Held position
Strategy: Two-stop (M-H-H)
Finished: 7th
▲ Nicked third off Norris by switching to medium rubber for final run
▼ Had no pace at start of race on his used mediums and had to pit early
▶ Nearly crashed into Bearman when pitting under the Virtual Safety Car
▼ Dropped behind Leclerc over the course of the race
6/10: Strategy gamble exacerbated car’s poor pace in higher temperatures
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Lance Stroll
Qualified: 8th (3 places behind team mate, +0.15s)
Grid: 8th (3 places behind team mate)
Start: Held position
Strategy: Two-stop (M-H-M)
Finished: 15th (4 places behind team mate)
▶ Joined team mate in Q3 but qualified behind him as usual
▶ Matched Alonso’s pace for much of the race, though they were usually in traffic
▼ Made no progress on mediums in final stint
▶ Reached Q3 but set best time in Q2, 0.084s faster
7/10: A solid weekend, but compromised strategically
Fernando Alonso
Qualified: 5th (3 places ahead of team mate, -0.15s)
Grid: 5th (3 places ahead of team mate)
Start: Held position
Strategy: Two-stop (M-H-M)
Finished: 11th (4 places ahead of team mate)
▲ Exploited Aston Martin’s upgrade and used medium rubber to take fifth on the grid
▶ Ran strongly in opening stint before degradation bit
▶ Paid the price of not pitting under VSC, dropping back in following stint
▲ Pulled off three great passes at Piratella on mediums at end of race
8/10: Enormously frustrated but showed great verve in final stint
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Franco Colapinto
Qualified: 15th (5 places behind team mate, +0.319s)
Grid: 16th (6 places behind team mate)
Start: -1 place
Strategy: Two-stop (M-H-H)
Finished: 16th (3 places behind team mate)
▼ Built up his pace over practice but crashed at the end of Q1
▼ Collected a one-place grid penalty for leaving his garage too soon
▶ Pitting shortly before VSC compromised his race
▼ Slower than Gasly at end of race on fresher rubber
4/10: Looked on the right path on Friday, then it all went wrong
Pierre Gasly
Qualified: 10th (5 places ahead of team mate, -0.319s)
Grid: 10th (6 places ahead of team mate)
Start: +1 place
Strategy: Two-stop (M-H-H)
Finished: 13th (3 places ahead of team mate)
▶ Was only behind the McLaren drivers in Friday practice
▲ Grabbed a place in Q3 and qualified tenth
▼ Lost five places when he went off at Piratella on lap three while fighting Leclerc
▶ Did a decent job over long final stint but his points chance was lost
▶ Reached Q3 but set best time in Q2, 0.282s faster
5/10: Never repeated Friday’s high but strong in qualifying, then made costly error in race
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Esteban Ocon
Qualified: 18th (1 place ahead of team mate, -0.305s)
Grid: 18th (1 place ahead of team mate)
Start: -2 places
Strategy: One-stop (M-H)
Finished: Not classified
▶ Last in both Friday practice sessions
▶ Said the team expected better performance from the car after going out in Q1
▶ Pitted at the end of lap one for hards in bold strategy move
▼ Lost places when cars emerged behind him on fresher rubber and attacked
▶ Technical problem ended his day early
5/10: Looked on course to finish well out of the points when misfortune struck
Oliver Bearman
Qualified: 19th (1 place behind team mate, +0.305s)
Grid: 19th (1 place behind team mate)
Start: +1 place
Strategy: Two-stop (H-M-H)
Finished: 17th
▶ Final run in Q1 looked good enough for a place in Q2…
▶ …but the FIA ruled he crossed the finishing line under red flags, infuriating Haas
▲ Had great pace when he hit clear air from lap 24
▶ Tried an ambitious hard-medium one-stop strategy but pit stop problem ruined his day
7/10: Had good pace but was incredibly hard done by
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Isack Hadjar
Qualified: 9th (7 places ahead of team mate, -0.126s)
Grid: 9th (6 places ahead of team mate)
Start: -2 places
Strategy: Two-stop (M-H-H)
Finished: 9th (5 places ahead of team mate)
▼ Spun off at the end of second practice
▲ Reached Q3 and was fifth after the first runs
▼ Fell to ninth after a mistake at Tamburello on his last run
▼ Lost places to both Ferraris at the start
▲ Made the best of a smart strategy to stay in touch with the leaders for ninth
▶ Reached Q3 but set best time in Q2, 0.236s faster
7/10: Clearly the team’s quickest driver but the car was capable of more
Liam Lawson
Qualified: 16th (7 places behind team mate, +0.126s)
Grid: 15th (6 places behind team mate)
Start: Held position
Strategy: Two-stop (M-H-H)
Finished: 14th (5 places behind team mate)
▶ Wasn’t able to complete his final lap in Q1 due to red flags and was eliminated
▶ Starting on mediums and pitting early was an odd call given his grid position
▶ Another driver stuck on old hard rubber at the final restart
5/10: Q1 misfortune and risky strategy added up to a fruitless weekend
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Alexander Albon
Qualified: 7th (1 place behind team mate, +0.041s)
Grid: 7th (1 place behind team mate)
Start: Held position
Strategy: Two-stop (M-H-H)
Finished: 5th (3 places ahead of team mate)
▶ Admitted he wasn’t quite as comfortable in his car as Sainz but still reached Q3
▶ Ran behind his team mate in the first stint but avoided the temptation of an early pit stop
▶ Thought he had a chance to catch Piastri at one stage
▲ Put a legitimate move on Leclerc but was forced off
▶ Couldn’t keep Hamilton behind but secured another excellent fifth
7/10: Little to choose between the Williams pair, Albon battled well at the end
Carlos Sainz Jnr
Qualified: 6th (1 place ahead of team mate, -0.041s)
Grid: 6th (1 place ahead of team mate)
Start: Held position
Strategy: Two-stop (M-H-H)
Finished: 8th (3 places behind team mate)
▲ Astonishing Q2 lap put him fastest, couldn’t quite repeat it in Q3 but took sixth
▶ Ran strongly at the start but admitted misgivings about the team’s early pit stop call
▲ Did well to fight his way back from there to eighth ahead of Hadjar
▶ Reached Q3 but set best time in Q2, 0.234s faster
7/10: Only the team’s strategy cost him a better result
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Nico Hulkenberg
Qualified: 17th (3 places behind team mate, +0.178s)
Grid: 17th (3 places behind team mate)
Start: +1 place
Strategy: One-stop (H-M)
Finished: 12th (6 places ahead of team mate)
▼ Dipped a wheel into the gravel at Rivazza which cost him a place in Q2
▲ Started on hards but gained a place from Colapinto on mediums
▶ Looked in with a chance of a point when team one-stopped him
▶ Lost out to Tsunoda’s quicker Red Bull at the finish
6/10: Somewhat unfortunate not to come away with a point
Gabriel Bortoleto
Qualified: 14th (3 places ahead of team mate, -0.178s)
Grid: 14th (3 places ahead of team mate)
Start: Held position
Strategy: Three-stop (M-H-H-M)
Finished: 18th (6 places behind team mate)
▼ Crashed in first practice
▶ Reached Q2 again, albeit under slightly fortuitous circumstances
▶ Three-stopping did not pay off as he couldn’t make progress on mediums at the end
5/10: Pace wasn’t bad but repeated dice-rolling left him last
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Over to you
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2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix
- ‘It’s a shame, but what can I do?’: Verstappen regrets loss of Imola from calendar
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- 2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix weekend F1 driver ratings
- Tsunoda won’t “try to be a hero” in qualifying again after Imola crash