Emilia Romagna GP driver ratings: A drop for Piastri with Verstappen perfect

Masterful Max Verstappen was back to his brilliant best with a fine overtake to seal his second victory of the season at Imola.

The Dutchman upset pole-sitter Oscar Piastri to secure his first win since Japan and crown Red Bull’s 400th race entry. Here’s our ratings for Verstappen and the other 19 drivers:

Emilia Romagna Grand Prix driver ratings

Max Verstappen – 10

Worthy of 10 for his overtake alone. The race was always going to be won in the opening stages given the nature of this circuit but Verstappen emphatically took control with an excellent pass into Turn 1.

Having gained the lead, Verstappen shot off into the distance and even when a VSC and a Safety Car threatened to disrupt him, the Dutchman found another gear and cruised to victory.

Lando Norris – 8.5

Having disappointed to qualify fourth, Lando Norris recovered well and it is a result that threatened to get away from him with some poor luck.

Almost exactly after Norris had pitted for the first time, Esteban Ocon brought out the VSC but fortune did swing Norris’ way when Antonelli’s full safety car allowed him to stop for fresh rubber while his team-mate was not so lucky.

Oscar Piastri – 8

A relatively poor start considering his own high bar as Piastri surrendered control of the race early on.

Had he held position, it would have been a different story but his afternoon became one of frustration as he had to work his way through a packed field and was then hurt by the timings of the VSC and Safety Car.

In the end, a lack of available rubber meant he emerged from the final Safety Car period with one hand tied behind his back and could not do much to stop Norris overtaking him.

Lewis Hamilton – 8.5

Fortunate of course, but you have to be in it to win it as the Safety Car timing greatly helped Lewis Hamilton.

Qualifying outside of the top 10 meant a P4 finish would have seemed unattainable but there were finally some signs that when the Ferrari car is in the right window, Hamilton can extract pace from it.

One race does not make a season, but it is a step in the right direction and Hamilton’s best finish of the season so far.

Alex Albon – 9

An excellent result for Alex Albon whose best work came in the first stint when he made his tyres last until the VSC came out.

After that, it was a real battle against the Ferraris and even some more poorly timed Safety Cars but the Williams driver held on, surviving a late run through the gravel when fighting Charles Leclerc.

Charles Leclerc – 8

Charles Leclerc seemed at his wits’ end in this race after the timing of Safety Cars hurt his chances and then he seemed furious about the potential of a penalty in his entanglement with Alex Albon.

In what looked like an example of hard racing, Leclerc was told to give the spot back to Albon to end an extremely frustrating race.

George Russell – 7.5

One of the many victims of the timings of the Safety Cars, Russell’s P3 was quickly undone when he emerged 16th after the first stop.

He fought his way up the field but the cheaper pit stop of those ahead of him meant he could do little to get back to where he once was, especially with an issue with his rears throughout the race.

Hard battling got him back up to sixth, but he was then overtaken by Hamilton to end the race in seventh.

Carlos Sainz – 7.5

Carlos Sainz was left very frustrated with his team’s decision to opt to pit early, especially when team-mate Albon had such good pace up front.

As it proved, it was the wrong strategy call with those who stayed out allowing a much cheaper stop and giving Sainz a mountain to climb.

Having started sixth, he would have hoped to move forward but did well to hold on to P8.

Isack Hadjar – 8

Isack Hadjar continues to perform well in the Racing Bulls as he earned his fourth points score of the year.

Starting ninth, he lost a couple of spots early on but was one of the drivers to stay out in the first stint.

The second half of the race was about how much he could hang on and he managed to finish ninth.

Yuki Tsunoda – 7

Saturday’s quali crash meant Sunday’s race was always going to be a recovery one and Yuki Tsunoda did just that.

Strategy and pit stop timings of course worked in his favour but making progress on this circuit is no mean feat.

Tsunoda though, is still a long way off the pace of Verstappen.

Fernando Alonso – 7.5

Fernando Alonso said during the race that he was “the unluckiest driver in the f**king” world” and it is hard to disagree with him on this occasion.

An excellent quali result of P5 looked certain to break his season duck but then he pitted in the 12th lap, 17 laps before the VSC came out.

Aston then opted to not pit him a second time during the VSC period, which meant he was a sitting duck as the race went on.

They pitted him following Antonelli’s Safety Car but it was a slow one and he came out on mediums, again making it easy for those around to overtake as the race reached its conclusion.

P11 and his wait goes on.

Nico Hulkenberg – 7.5

You can tell it has been a better race for Nico Hulkenberg when he actually appears in the TV broadcast.

Starting 17th, the team’s decision to go long in the first stint allowed him to make moves up the order and the VSC played nicely into his hands.

Ultimately, he could not hold back the quicker cars but at least he was within a couple of places of the points for the first time in a long time.

Pierre Gasly – 6.5

Did well to make it to Q3 but his race took a nosedive when a battle with Leclerc saw him go wide and into the gravel.

After that incident, Gasly went from 10th down to 14th, giving him an uphill task for the rest of the grand prix.

The team pitted him in lap 9, the second earliest of any driver, and then again in 29 but he was left vulnerable when he did not stop under the full Safety Car.

Liam Lawson – 5.5

Another race where Liam Lawson has been shown up by his younger team-mate.

Qualifying in 15th, the Kiwi did at least make up one spot in the race but he has still yet to score this campaign.

Lance Stroll – 6.5

There have been plenty of opportunities to criticise Lance Stroll for his driving but Imola was not one of them.

A good quali was built on as he went as high as fifth but the first Virtual Safety Car timing destroyed his race, seeing him emerge in 17th.

He got up to ninth but Aston did not pit him in lap 29 when a lot of the field did so he began to fall back down.

He then pitted again in lap 46 at which point all hope of a top 10 finish was gone.

Franco Colapinto – 5

A rather disastrous way to return to F1 as a crash in quali gave the Alpine drivers a big task to even get Franco Colapinto on the grid.

They did so but from there Colapinto looked very much like a driver who was driving his first race in a new car. He finished exactly where he started – 16th.

Oliver Bearman – 5

A tight call prevented Oliver Bearman from competing in Q2, meaning it was his third Q1 exit in four races.

While he has scored points from lower on the grid, the nature of Imola meant a P18 start was always going to be tough and he was the second-last driver across the finish line.

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Gabriel Bortoleto – 4

We are already in ‘what more can you say’ territory when it comes to Gabriel Bortoleto in races.

If a Q2 appearance was a plus, sinking to last except the DNF drivers shows he and the car severely lack race pace.

Kimi Antonelli – 5.5

Perhaps feeling the pressure of being an Italian driver in Italy, Kimi Antonelli looked his age this weekend – something he has not done much this season.

He went out in Q2 and even before his mechanical retirement, he was being picked off by quicker drivers with each passing lap.

Esteban Ocon – 4

Even before he retired due to mechanical issues, it was a strange race for Esteban Ocon as Haas pitted him after just one lap.

Perhaps aiming for the mother of all stints or just looking to offset the tyres of everyone else, we will never know what Haas’ strategy was exactly as Ocon retired midway through the race.

Read next: Imola GP conclusions: Verstappen’s Piastri lesson, McLaren’s fear, Tsunoda’s wobble