‘I’m just going to try and send it,’ Verstappen says of winning move

Max Verstappen says his first-lap move on Oscar Piastri allowed Red Bull to unleash its pace as he took his second victory of the season at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.

Piastri started from pole and got a good launch to lead towards the first braking zone at Imola, with Verstappen side-by-side with George Russell in a fight for second place. Approaching Tamburello, Verstappen stayed wide on the racing line and swept around the outside of Piastri from a long way back, before pulling away to secure an impressive victory.

“The start itself wasn’t particularly great, but then I was still on the outside line – or basically the normal line – and I was like, ‘Well, I’m just going to try and send it around the outside,’ and it worked really well,” Verstappen said.

“That then unleashed our pace, because once we were in the lead, the car was good. I could look after my tires and we had very good pace on it today. So, massive improvement from Friday, and I’m very, very pleased with that.

“Then that VSC was quite handy to pit. And even then, even on the hard compound, I think our pace was very strong. Then, of course, there was a safety car, so the field was all back together. But even then, on the restart, I think we managed it all really well and brought it home.

“Incredibly proud of everyone. It’s been a very important week for us. The car has performed really well. And also, I think the whole execution of the race – when to pit, the pit stops themselves – they were all very good.”

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Verstappen’s victory moves him within 22 points of championship leader Piastri but despite the progress made by Red Bull in Imola he warns it is not something he is likely to replicate at all venues.

“I think it's very track specific. Every time that we have been really competitive, it’s been high-speed tracks, high-speed corners," he said. "We still have work to do, but I do think it’s been a very positive weekend for us.

“We brought upgrades. I think they worked. Friday was very difficult still, but then I think we found a better setup for Saturday. And I just hope that we can use that a bit more often because it definitely brought the car in a better window.

“Now, that was here. Monaco I mean, I love driving in Monaco, but it’s not been our strongest track with the car that we have. But we’ll see what we can do. And then we go to Barcelona – normally, a lot of high-speed corners, which is great. A lot of tire deg as well, which again will be crucial to master, and I don’t know how that is going to work for us at the moment. But, for now, just very happy with this weekend, and we just go from there.”