Daniel Ricciardo has had a difficult start to the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Imola, losing two places in the opening corners to drop to 11th – one position out of the points.
He was overtaken by the Haas of Nico Hulkenberg and the Red Bull of Sergio Perez in a poor first lap, before pitting on lap 12 – the first of the midfield pack to head to the pits.
The entire grid got off and racing cleanly, with Max Verstappen leading Lando Norris. Oscar Piastri showed good pace but was held up by Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, the Ferrari duo in third and fourth.
That saw McLaren attempt an undercut, with Piastri pitting shortly after his teammate Norris. It paid off: Norris soon got past the Red Bull of Sergio Perez, who had not yet pitted after starting on the harder tyre. Perez had earlier also gone off track, saying on team radio: “Ah f**k I went off”.
Piastri himself very quickly got past Lance Stroll, and got past Perez shortly afterwards to sit just behind the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc in what was effectively a battle for third place.
Behind them, Carlos Sainz used his fresh set of hard tyres to overtake Perez and claim fifth place – meaning the top five had all pitted and weren’t expected to pit again. Perez continued to slide as the Mercedes of George Russell also used fresh tyres to overtake him into sixth, before Lewis Hamilton also got past before Perez pitted on lap 38.
Perez emerged in 11th, one place behind Daniel Ricciardo – but immediately used his fresh medium tyres to overtake the Australian into the final points position. Perez then zipped past Nico Hulkenberg with ease.
Earlier in the race, there was drama further down the order as Alex Albon emerged from the pits on hard tyres but immediately appeared to be struggling.
“I’ve got a problem. The tyre’s not on properly,” he said on team radio – though limped back around the course and made it back to the pits before continuing. That was deemed unsafe by stewards and he was handed a 10-second stop-go penalty.
Meanwhile, Fernando Alonso’s nightmare weekend threatened to get even worse when his left front brake overheated and spurted flames after an early pit stop.
Lewis Hamilton was another to come to grief in the opening stages, locking up and running into the gravel around the mid-point of the race and sending him dashing to the pits for fresh tyres.
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PREVIEW
McLaren star Lando Norris is eyeing a second-straight victory after his drought-breaking maiden win in Miami last time out, as he starts the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix from second place.
That spot was set to be his Australian teammate Oscar Piastri’s after a stunning qualifying drive from the youngster put him P2 behind reigning world champion Max Verstappen, but the Aussie will now start fifth after a three-place grid penalty for impeding a rival earlier in qualifying.
With the Ferrari duo of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz ahead of him, Piastri faces a difficult battle for a podium on a track where overtaking is difficult.
Three decades on from the tragic passing of Brazilian legend Ayrton Senna at Imola, Verstappen matched the icon’s record with an eighth consecutive pole position.
But his teammate Sergio Perez will start a lowly 11th after a disastrous Saturday that earlier saw the Mexican crash in practice.
He’ll hope for a major charge through the field – as will Fernando Alonso, who was set to start 19th in his Aston Martin after also crashing in practice before going into the gravel in qualifying. His team announced the former world champion will instead start from pit lane after repairs – and surprisingly opted to start the race on soft tyres, with the vast majority starting on mediums. Sergio Perez was the highest-placed driver to choose a different strategy, starting on hards.
Daniel Ricciardo starts ninth in his VCARB.
‘Fun while it lasted’: Late blow for Piastri as stars flop, Ricciardo shines in F1 quali
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Source Agencies
