Following a near perfect weekend, defending champion Max Verstappen topped it off in style on Sunday, producing a dominant victory in Imola.
After securing his first pole position in Qualifying on Friday Verstappen looked poised to pick up maximum points in the first sprint race of the season on Saturday and he did just that.
Despite being jumped off the line by Championship rival Charles Leclerc, the flying Dutchman stayed within reach of the Ferrari man and took back the lead with just two laps remaining to secure eight crucial points.
The Red Bull man was able to take home maximum points from the weekend, following that up with 26 more in the race, capping off a perfect weekend for Red Bull, in which fellow driver Sergio Perez managed to complete a 1-2, which was Red Bull's first since Malaysia 2016.
As for Championship leader's Ferrari, it was a weekend to forget. As the lights went out on Sunday, Leclerc was immediately jumped off the line by Perez and McLaren's Lando Norris, which left the Ferrari man in P4 at the end of the first lap.
The Monegasque driver ended up finishing in P6 after a costly spin at Variante Alta, taking too much curb trying to eagerly get past Sergio Perez on the main straight. The Ferrari driver dropped to P9, having to pit for a new front wing, after fortunately avoiding the barrier, but managed to limit the damage done.
"I gave it all but went over the limit at the end."
His teammate Carlos Sainz found himself out of the race for the second weekend in a row, colliding with Daniel Ricciardo at the Tamburello chicaine, sending both drivers into the gravel. Unfortunately for the Spaniard, he couldn't get his car going again, unlike the Australian, who managed to continue albeit at the back of the grid.
As for Ricciardo's teammate, Lando Norris, the Brit managed to secure consecutive podium finishes at Imola, and continuing McLaren's resurgence in 2022, following their poor start in Bahrain.
Mercedes once again suffered a bittersweet raceday, with George Russell continuing his impressive start to life with the Silver Arrows, jumping up to P4 after starting in P11. Lewis Hamilton however, failed to score any points throughout the weekend, ending up in P13.
The seven time World Champion just did not have the pace to get past Pierre Gasly for the majority of the race, albeit being stuck in a DRS train, leaving the Brit frustrated throughout.
SURPRISES OF THE DAY
Valtteri Bottas had a stellar afternoon in Imola, finishing inside the top 5 for the first time since his move to Alfa Romeo!
It is also the third time in four races in 2022 that the Finn has finished inside the top 10, solidifying his impressive start to the Championship.
Yuki Tsunoda finally caught a break in the Alpha Tauri, coming home to take P7 following two disappointing results in Saudi Arabia and Australia.
Alpha Tauri will be hoping for more of the same from the Japanese in weeks to come, now having finished inside the points in two out of the four races so far.
Aston Martin had a successful weekend considering their shocking start to the year, with veteran Sebastian Vettel and Lance Stroll taking P8 and P10 respectively. Team CEO and principal Otmar Szafnauer will be looking to continue in this vein in Miami, after picking up their first points of the Championship.
Sebastian Vettel will be hoping to build on this result, and to make up for lost ground on his midfield rivals, following his absence in the first two race weekends. Stroll did a good job in maintaining track position after coming under pressure from Hamilton for periods in the race, which will be a sight for sore eyes for Aston Martin.
Comments