Verstappen told Red Bull to use Tsunoda before “hold him up” call

Max Verstappen made sure Red Bull did not miss an opportunity to use his team mate tactically on his way to victory in the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix.

After Oscar Piastri pitted from second place, Red Bull told race leader Verstappen one of the cars he had fallen behind belonged to his team mate Yuki Tsunoda. Verstappen immediately told Red Bull to pass a message along to Tsunoda about what he should do.

Red Bull were already well on top of the case, however. Tsunoda’s race engineer Richard Wood told him to be ready to delay Piastri as soon as the McLaren headed into the pits. Piastri’s pit stop was slow, and so he likely took longer to catch Tsunoda than Red Bull predicted, but once he did they issued a second instruction to hold the McLaren up:

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Piastri pursued Verstappen over the opening stint after the Red Bull driver passed him for the lead at the start.

Although Piastri’s radio messages indicate McLaren thought Red Bull might join them make an early first pit stop, Verstappen’s radio messages show they did not consider this. His race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase pointed out there were no suitable gaps between traffic he might emerge into if he pitted:

Once Piastri pitted, Verstappen’s attention switched to Norris, who wasn’t able to make significant inroads into his lead before pitting:

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2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix

• Verstappen told Red Bull to use Tsunoda before “hold him up” call
• ‘Saturdays have been mine for years but for some reason it’s drifted away’ – Norris
• “Plan C?”: Why McLaren only got their strategy right for one driver at Imola
• McLaren fail to win from their last five pole positions at Imola
• ‘It’s a shame, but what can I do?’: Verstappen regrets loss of Imola from calendar

Browse all 2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix articles