Starting second on the grid, Verstappen overtook McLaren’s Oscar Piastri within the opening corners and never looked back. In what was Red Bull’s 400th race, the Dutchman claimed his 65th career victory, finishing in 1:31:33.199 and collecting the full 25 points.

Lando Norris of McLaren came in second, just 6.109 seconds behind, while Piastri rounded out the podium in third. Even after a safety car period bunched up the field, Verstappen was simply too fast to catch. His performance earned him the Driver of the Day vote from fans.

That Max Verstappen move from onboard ?????

The reigning champ gets a DREAM start at Imola!#F1 #ImolaGP pic.twitter.com/zvIUuqXXxA

— Formula 1 (@F1) May 18, 2025

Verstappen admitted his start wasn’t ideal, but quick thinking helped him seize the lead early on.

“The start itself wasn’t particularly great, but I was still on the outside line – basically the normal line – and I thought, ‘Well, I’m just going to try and send it around the outside’,” he said.

“It worked really well! That obviously unleashed our pace, because once we were in the lead, the car felt great. I could manage the tyres, and we had really good speed today.

“It was a massive improvement from Friday, and I’m very pleased about that. The VSC (Virtual Safety Car) came at a handy time for our pit stop, and even on the hard compound tyres, we still had strong pace.

Max Verstappen. Photo: X

“Then, of course, the Safety Car brought the field back together, but we handled the restart really well and brought it home.

“I’m incredibly proud of everyone. It’s been a very important week for us – the car performed brilliantly, and the execution throughout the race, from strategy calls to the pit stops, was spot on.”

Next up, the drivers and teams head to Monte Carlo for the iconic Monaco Grand Prix.

OFM Sport/Morgan Piek cg