Max Verstappen throws the world championship battle back into question. One swallow doesn’t make a summer, but at Imola Red Bull scored a convincing win, showing a respectable race pace that validates the quality of their updates, surprising even McLaren. Ferrari, recovering and almost erratic if you compare the rhythm from Saturday to Sunday, finishes just off the podium. Once again, the answer lies in the tyres.
Max sublime, but Red Bull is back
At lights out, Max Verstappen immediately lands a champion’s blow, diving into a lethal braking move at Tamburello on the grippiest line. The world champion took advantage of a distracted Piastri defending against Russell, earning himself clear air. But Imola’s triumph is no carbon copy of Suzuka. Max didn’t win by defending, but rather by pushing steadily with a car that, up until two weeks ago, suffered from tyre degradation. When running on the same tyre compound as the McLarens, the Dutchman didn’t let them get close. His early pace left the rivals no option but to gamble on an undercut with Piastri and send him on a two-stop strategy, which later proved ineffective in a race where tyres settled after initially appearing to degrade quickly.
Max Verstappen didn’t cover anyone — he stuck to his strategy all the way to the flag, with a calmness that reflects a Red Bull now equipped to take on the “papaya” duo. The track layout at Imola and the ambient conditions helped reduce McLaren’s advantage seen in Miami, but Andrea Stella gave credit to his rivals: “I must say we were surprised by Red Bull’s pace today — it was very competitive.” A significant contribution came from the updates: the floor introduced in Florida, the new bodywork brought to Imola, and most importantly the redesigned brake cooling ducts, key to managing rear tyre temperatures. One year on, it’s now McLaren looking over their shoulder at a recovering Red Bull — not the other way around.
McLaren awaits the slow
The Miami dominance, where McLaren held nearly a one-second-per-lap advantage, already feels far away. The MCL39 hasn’t lost its edge in just two weeks, but several factors have closed the gap. “The track layout and Red Bull’s progress are two elements that meant we didn’t have a particular advantage today,” said Stella. “If you look at cornering speeds and compare them to Miami, the car runs in a completely different regime, within another region of the aero map.”
The MCL39 performs best in low-speed corners, where it rides high and uses large steering angles. Unsurprisingly, the Woking car dominated Miami’s twisty second sector and also shined in the tight corners of Bahrain and Shanghai — but struggled on flowing circuits like Suzuka and Jeddah. “When it comes to high-speed corners, like here at Imola, I don’t think we have a particular advantage,” Stella reflected. McLaren hopes upcoming updates will broaden its performance window, aiming to make the car more versatile across different corners and conditions. Imola doesn’t undo McLaren’s technical lead — but to turn it into the ultimate prize, development must continue relentlessly.
Ferrari changes rhythm
Imola Sunday also saw Ferrari climb back up the order, repaying the support of the grandstands. The team had no luck with the timing of the race neutralisations, but delivered an excellent strategic execution from pit wall and drivers in a tough race. The team showed initiative by calling Charles Leclerc into the pits early to get him out of traffic — and the power of the undercut exceeded expectations thanks to an extraordinary out-lap, a rare moment of aggression in a team often too conservative with fresh tyres.
In the few moments where a comparison was possible, the Ferrari drivers showed race pace close to the front-runners — notable given the stress of overtaking. Fred Vasseur added, “I don’t think we have the best car — even if we’re better in the race, we’re not faster than McLaren. Maybe we’re close, but we’re not fast enough.”
Ferrari confirms the dual nature of the SF-25: strong in tyre management but weak in qualifying, a handicap in a Formula 1 where dirty air is back to 2021 levels. The issue isn’t simply aero development aimed at race-height performance. “I can understand a tenth between qualifying and race due to car traits, but for us it’s three,” admitted Vasseur. “We probably need a different approach for prep laps on softs — we’re not extracting peak grip on a hot lap.” A task that will be crucial next weekend in Monaco.
Mercedes collapse
Another team that looked completely different from Saturday to Sunday was Mercedes — but in the opposite direction to Ferrari. Antonelli was forced to retire due to a throttle issue, but the bigger worry in Brackley was George Russell’s lack of pace, which put the pit wall in a tough spot strategically. In the first stint, a temperature imbalance between front and rear tyres was so bad Russell thought a suspension part was damaged. In earlier races the W16 had struggled over long runs due to persistent understeer, but this time the rear axle was the problem. The team is not ruling out the possibility that recent updates may have made things worse — a question they hope to answer soon.
Meanwhile, another Mercedes-powered team is smiling. Williams finished in the points with both cars thanks to flawless weekend execution — on a track very different from Miami and with no upgrades. Aston Martin, on the other hand, brought plenty of developments but were undone by the neutralisations, missing out on points. Still, the progress is tangible — an important signal in the driver market to try and attract the very Verstappen who, at Imola, continues chasing his fifth crown.
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