Verstappen Resists and Wins at Imola

Max Verstappen from Red Bull dominated most of the 2024 Imola Grand Prix but had to withstand a late attack from McLaren's Lando Norris to take the victory. Norris expressed his frustration at finishing just 0.7 seconds behind, feeling that with a few more laps, he could have won.

Tire degradation was higher than expected, aiding Verstappen, who benefited from setup work done at Red Bull's factory before qualifying. Norris managed his hard tires better in the second half of the race, closing the gap to Verstappen, but the world champion held firm to win.

At the start, Norris managed to get close to Verstappen but not enough to attack into the first corner. Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz from Ferrari positioned themselves behind the leaders, while Verstappen pulled away, out of Norris' DRS range from the second lap.

Verstappen extended his lead to 6.5 seconds by lap 22, although he received a formal warning for exceeding track limits. Norris was the first of the leaders to pit on lap 22, switching from medium to hard tires. Verstappen pitted two laps later, while Leclerc stayed out until lap 25, allowing Norris to gain a small advantage.

In the final stage of the race, Verstappen held a 5.6-second lead thanks to Norris' early stop. Leclerc closed in on Norris after his stop, but an error at the Variante Alta chicane slowed his pace, allowing Norris to focus on catching Verstappen.

Norris pushed hard, saving several critical moments in the chicanes during the last laps but fell short. Leclerc finished 7.1 seconds behind in third place. Oscar Piastri came in fourth, followed by Carlos Sainz in fifth. Lewis Hamilton finished sixth after an off-track excursion, while his Mercedes teammate George Russell was seventh after a late second stop to secure the fastest lap point.

Sergio Pérez climbed from 11th to eighth, with an alternative strategy of starting on hard tires and switching to mediums at the end. Alex Albon from Williams was the only retirement of the race, due to a loose wheel problem on his first pit stop.