Imola,
Sunday, 19 May, 2024
Polesitter Verstappen led the charge to Turn 1, ahead of Norris and the Ferraris, with Leclerc ahead of Carlos Sainz. McLaren’s Oscar Piastri stayed fifth, after his three-place grid penalty had dropped him off the front row.
Lewis Hamilton moved his Mercedes up to seventh on the opening lap, as the slow-starting Yuki Tsunoda (RB) fell from seventh to ninth, also dropping a spot to Nico Hulkenberg’s Haas.
Verstappen pulled 2.5s clear of Norris by lap 10, which grew to over 5.5s by lap 20.
George Russell (Mercedes) was the first of the top six to pit, with second placed Norris pitting on lap 23, switching from mediums to hards like the majority of runners. But, annoyingly for McLaren, he rejoined right behind Sergio Perez (Red Bull), who’d started on hard tyres after his disastrous qualifying but suffered an early trip through the gravel at Rivazza.
Norris had to DRS past Perez, as team-mate Piastri stopped a lap later. Verstappen pitted on lap 25, which promoted Leclerc and Sainz into a brief Ferrari 1-2, rejoining in fourth, 4.4s ahead of Norris, who was now free to set fastest lap.
Leclerc stopped a lap later, rejoining behind Perez and with Piastri closing fast. Leclerc DRS-ed past Perez on lap 27 for fifth, but Piastri was able to follow him past him before the Villeneuve chicane.
Sainz led until lap 28, when he pitted, rejoining sixth and having given a place up to Piastri through the pitstop cycle. He passed Perez for fifth at Tamburello on lap 30, a move repeated by Russell a lap later.
At half distance, Verstappen’s lead was up to 6.6s over Norris, with Leclerc a further 3s back – and Piastri, who set fastest lap at this point, was chasing him hard.
Leclerc then closed on Norris, as they approached the battling Kevin Magnussen (Haas) and Zhou Guanyu (Sauber). But Leclerc took a quick trip across the grass at Variante Alta on lap 47 and fell away again.
Verstappen’s lead dwindled in the closing stages, as he complained of worn tyres, and Norris pushed to get within 2s with six laps remaining. But as soon as he got within 1.5s, he started to run wide on corner exits, and Verstappen was able to manage the gap despite some battery management concerns.
At the finish, Verstappen won by 0.7s from a hard-charging Norris, Leclerc, Piastri and Sainz.
Hamilton suffered a trip through the gravel at Aqua Minerale on his way to sixth, as team-mate Russell effectively handed him that spot by stopping again on lap 53, setting fastest lap on his way to seventh.
Perez placed eighth on his alternative strategy, ahead of a late-stopping Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) and Tsunoda.