Five winners, five losers: Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix
- Peter Johnson
- 7 hours ago
- 8 min read
Written by Peter Johnson, edited by Dhara Dave
The Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix served up a treat for fans on Sunday, but who had a weekend to celebrate - and who didn’t?
Winner - Imola
In a break from convention in the “Five winners, five losers” series, the first “winner” of the weekend is not the man who took the chequered flag.
Imola, or the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari, to give it its full name, looks poised to drop off the calendar for 2026. What a way to be remembered, though, with the 2025 edition of the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix being surely the finest since the circuit’s return to the calendar in 2020.
The track layout in its current guise has taken its fair share of criticism, with the post-1994 addition of chicanes at Tamburello and Villeneuve often accused of disrupting the circuit’s flowing nature. However, this year we were treated to some thrilling wheel-to-wheel action throughout the race, and even if the eventual winner was never in doubt, the midfield battle was a thrilling spectacle.
If this is to be the last we see of Imola in Formula One, then what a way to go.
Winner - Max Verstappen
A truly dominant performance from Max Verstappen on Sunday saw him take his fourth straight victory at Imola. The result was all the more impressive given his well-documented struggles in Friday practice, leading to a late night for his Red Bull team, both trackside and back in Milton Keynes.
The decisive moment of the whole weekend took place at Turn 1 on Sunday, with an astonishing move by the Dutchman around the outside of Piastri to take a lead he would not relinquish.
The move forced Piastri and McLaren into an earlier stop to try to achieve an undercut, which left the Australian to slice his way through traffic on a strategy that would ultimately lose him another position to teammate Lando Norris.
Verstappen, meanwhile, comfortably holding a ten-second lead over Norris for the opening phase of the race, afforded himself the luxury of nursing his tyres and pitting whenever he wanted. Ultimately, he was fortunate with the timing of the virtual safety car following Esteban Ocon’s retirement, but, as the cliché goes, he made his own luck.
For arguably the first time this season, the Red Bull looked the fastest car in race trim too, which bodes extremely well for the World Champion, ahead of the busy European part of the season.
Winner - Lewis Hamilton
Following a second consecutive Q2 elimination on Saturday, it looked like it was going to be another weekend of pain for Lewis Hamilton.
The seven-time champion’s first race representing Ferrari in front of the Tifosi could not have started off much worse as the Briton was left down in P12 on the grid, but as the race unfolded, the Italian fans were treated to Hamilton at his brilliant best.
The man from Stevenage had to bide his time, spending the first half of the race staring at the rear wing of Andrea Kimi Antonelli, but a superb move into Tamburello on Lap 34 set him on his way.
Overtakes in the final ten laps on George Russell, Alex Albon and Charles Leclerc were enough for Hamilton to claim P4, his best Grand Prix finish so far for Ferrari, and with an extra couple of laps, he may have been eyeing up a move on Oscar Piastri for a podium finish.
Hamilton may have had some luck, pitting for fresh tyres behind the safety car, which gave him an edge over Russell and Leclerc, while he passed Albon following an off-moment for the Williams driver. However, the Ferrari sporting the number 44 looked genuinely quick, arguably for the first time since China, and the Briton was understandably jubilant following the race.
The last time Hamilton felt Ferrari had turned a corner was after Bahrain, but things went south the following race in Saudi Arabia. Only time will tell whether he can carry this momentum into Monaco, but the signs are promising.
Winner - Alex Albon
The fact that Alex Albon may have been slightly disappointed with fifth place at Imola speaks volumes about the progress made by Williams in 2025.
His teammate Carlos Sainz again showed flashes of speed across the weekend, even setting the fastest lap time in Q2 on Saturday, but again it was Albon who put together the stronger race of the two on Sunday.
Following the virtual safety car, the Thai driver was running in a legitimate third place, although with a fast-charging Piastri and two Ferraris behind him, he faced an uphill challenge.
Despite a skirmish with Charles Leclerc, which actually saw Albon lose out to Lewis Hamilton in the sister Ferrari, he recorded his second consecutive fifth-placed finish, leaving him a comfortable eighth in the drivers’ standings.
Williams as a team now have four double-point finishes from the first seven races in 2025, which is as many as they had in the past three-and-a-half seasons combined. With Albon in career-best form and Carlos Sainz now delivering consistent points, they may have fifth place in the Constructors’ Championship sewn up already.
Winner - Pirelli
Since Pirelli started supplying Formula One tyres in 2011, the manufacturer has faced its fair share of criticism. It stands to reason, then, that Pirelli should this weekend be lauded for bringing along a range of tyres that absolutely brought the Grand Prix to life.
The new C6 compound, the softest in the Pirelli range, was causing strategy headaches as early as Qualifying, with teams uncertain whether it was faster over one lap than the slightly harder C5. Indeed, Aston Martin took that gamble, which catapulted both Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll into Q3 at the expense of the two Ferraris.
Come race day, there was little to split the one and two-stop strategies according to the data, which encouraged some drivers and teams to go aggressive. Oscar Piastri did this to his cost, encountering traffic after his first stop and ultimately losing a position.
The virtual safety car period and the full safety car later on certainly spiced up the race by offering free pit stops to a number of drivers, but the fact remains that Pirelli actually provided tyres that allowed the cars to go racing. More of the same in future, please.
Loser - Oscar Piastri
The Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix was far from a calamity for Oscar Piastri, but third place will feel like a disappointing result, having started on Pole.
Piastri was understandably focused on keeping a fast-starting George Russell behind him at the race start, but as a result was unprepared for a late-braking Max Verstappen sweeping around the outside at Tamburello.
This loss of position put Piastri on the back foot, where he remained until the end of Lap 63. The decision to try an aggressive two-stop strategy was admirable, if slightly naïve, and despite the Australian’s best efforts to scythe back through the field, he lost out to Lando Norris, boasting fresh tyres, after the safety car restart.
The losses were ultimately minimal for the championship leader, but there were worrying signs for his team with neither of the two McLarens seeming to have the raw pace to compete with Verstappen on Sunday.
Loser - Fernando Alonso
Both Fernando Alonso and Charles Leclerc voiced their credentials to be considered Formula One’s unluckiest driver over team radio during Sunday’s Grand Prix.
Each has a compelling case, with both being severely hampered by the timing of the virtual safety car and safety car. Leclerc pitted for new hard tyres on Lap 10 and may have been running a legitimate third but for the VSC intervention, while Alonso boxed on Lap 12 and was similarly hindered. While several drivers went the whole race without stopping under green flag conditions, the early strategy calls from both were cruelly undone.
However, the pain will be particularly strong for the veteran Spaniard, who recorded his third 11th-place finish of the season and remains pointless so far this campaign. Aston Martin showed pace this weekend too, with an upgrade package carrying them to the lofty heights of Q3 on Saturday.
Alonso comfortably maintained his starting position of fifth until his opening stop and recovered to ninth place after the virtual safety car. He boxed for a second time behind the full safety car, which stayed out for an agonisingly long six laps, and as a result he did not have enough time to carve his way back into the points from 14th. He ultimately followed tenth-place man Yuki Tsunoda over the line by less than a second.
The signs are positive for Aston Martin, who certainly appeared to have turned a corner at Imola, but it will sting to come away empty-handed.
Loser - Mercedes
Mercedes endured their worst weekend of 2025 so far, with George Russell describing the team’s “disastrous” Sunday as one of their worst for several years. The Briton’s streak of top-five finishes came to an end at Imola, while Andrea Kimi Antonelli suffered his first retirement of the season in front of his home crowd.
Qualifying was a mixed bag for the Silver Arrows, with Antonelli eliminated in Q2, but Russell’s impressive lap to qualify third showed there was some pace in the car.
Come Sunday and Russell was complaining about issues with his rear before the race even began, with the problem resurfacing during the Grand Prix. Antonelli, meanwhile, suffered a loss of power and bowed out on Lap 46.
Mercedes still sit second in the Constructors’ Championship, largely thanks to Russell’s relentless consistency so far this season, but more weekends like they experienced in Imola will keep Red Bull and Ferrari very interested.
Loser - Haas
It has been a Jekyll and Hyde season so far for Haas, with the American outfit looking seriously competitive in China and Bahrain, but well off the pace at other events.
The team struggled for a third weekend in a row in Italy, with each passing Grand Prix spent towards the back of the grid, suggesting that it is more reflective of their genuine pace.
Oliver Bearman was understandably disappointed to have been eliminated in Q1 when he had believed he had set a time good enough for P15, but he and teammate Esteban Ocon had to settle for the final two places on the grid (not including Yuki Tsunoda, who started from the pit lane).
On Sunday, Ocon was forced into retirement due to an engine issue, while Bearman crossed the line in 18th.
Haas remains sixth in the Constructors’ Championship, and with Williams now clearly boasting the fifth fastest car, there will be few opportunities for the teams below them to record points finishes. However, Haas’ position does look rather vulnerable, considering they currently look unlikely to score any points anytime soon.
Loser - Franco Colapinto
Franco Colapinto certainly burst onto the scene in 2024, scoring points in two of his first four races for Williams as he was drafted in to replace Logan Sargeant.
Despite a challenging final few races last year, it had been clear for some time that he was likely to take over Jack Doohan’s seat sooner rather than later in 2025.
However, it was hardly a convincing start for the Alpine debutant under the watchful gaze of Flavio Briatore, the team’s returning de facto team principal.
While Colapinto cannot be entirely blamed for the miscommunication in Q1 that earned him a one-place grid penalty, he did not help his cause moments later when he suffered a massive shunt at the exit of Tamburello.
A weak start to the Grand Prix put the Argentine down in 18th and from then on he ran a largely anonymous race, taking the chequered flag in 16th.
While there is a consensus among fans and commentators that Jack Doohan hardly had a fair crack of the whip at Alpine, it is only fair that Colapinto be held to the same standard by the team. He will need to find his feet quickly because if he is still struggling in five races’ time, he may leave the team in a very awkward situation.
