Max Verstappen delivered a decisive late overtake to win the first Sprint of the 2022 season, snatching victory from Charles Leclerc with two laps to go at Imola and locking in P1 for Sunday’s Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. In front of an impassioned tifosi crowd and under threatening skies, the reigning world champion turned a difficult launch into a determined fightback, reclaiming the lead he’d lost off the line and setting the tone for a high-stakes weekend at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari.
What To Know?
- Verstappen overtakes Leclerc with two laps remaining to win the 2022 Imola Sprint.
- Pérez climbs from P7 to P3; Sainz recovers six places to finish fourth.
- Magnussen scores Haas’s final point as Norris drops to fifth.
A wet and tricky Friday qualifying session had set the Sprint grid, with Verstappen on pole ahead of Leclerc, while Lando Norris and Kevin Magnussen lined up on the second row. With an updated points system awarding scores down to eighth place instead of just the top three, every lap of the 21-lap shootout carried added weight—especially with the track still damp from intermittent showers that continued to spit throughout Saturday.
Leclerc made the perfect start, surging past Verstappen at lights-out to a roar from the grandstands. But the race barely had time to settle before the Safety Car appeared. Zhou Guanyu retired immediately after contact with Pierre Gasly at Turn 9 on Lap 1, sending the Alfa Romeo into the barriers and dropping Gasly to the rear in P19. The restart came on Lap 5, Leclerc leading Verstappen and Norris as racing resumed at full intensity.
The Ferrari driver attempted to escape while Verstappen shadowed him relentlessly, never letting the red car out of his reach. As the laps ticked down, Verstappen edged deeper into Leclerc’s mirrors, entering DRS range with only a handful of laps to go. The decisive moment arrived on the third-to-last lap—Verstappen swept into the slipstream, opened his DRS, and powered past Leclerc into Tamburello to seize the lead. The Dutchman pulled away to win by 2.975 seconds, celebrating a recovery that showcased precision and patience.
Sergio Pérez completed a strong day for Red Bull. Starting from seventh, he climbed rapidly through the pack, gaining three places in the opening 10 laps before dispatching Norris on Lap 11 with the assistance of DRS to claim third. Pérez brought home six valuable points for the team under the expanded system.
Behind them, Norris slipped to fifth as Carlos Sainz launched a major recovery drive. After crashing out of Q2 on Friday and starting 10th for the Sprint, Sainz methodically worked his way up the order to snatch P4 from Norris with just two laps to go. Daniel Ricciardo held his starting position of sixth, while a charging Valtteri Bottas claimed seventh for Alfa Romeo, overtaking Kevin Magnussen late in the run. The Haas driver took the final point available with eighth, defending hard on medium tyres.
Fernando Alonso’s Sprint fluctuated in the wrong direction. Starting fifth, he couldn’t match the soft-tyred pace of his rivals and fell to ninth, holding off Mick Schumacher in the second Haas, who completed the top 10 on mediums. George Russell recovered to P11 after dropping places at the start, finishing ahead of Yuki Tsunoda and Sebastian Vettel—both of whom slipped down the order through the stint.
Lewis Hamilton continued to struggle in a difficult weekend for Mercedes, starting 13th and ending 14th after showing little ability to progress. Lance Stroll rounded out the top 15 for Aston Martin, finishing where he started.
Esteban Ocon, hampered by gearbox issues that left him 19th on the grid, recovered to P16, staying ahead of Gasly after the AlphaTauri driver’s Lap 1 collision. Williams’ Alex Albon, starting last because of a brake fire in qualifying, climbed to P18, with Nicholas Latifi in P19. Zhou was the sole retirement after his opening-lap crash.
With Verstappen lining up ahead of Leclerc for Sunday’s Emilia Romagna Grand Prix and Pérez and Sainz sharing the second row, the stage is set for an explosive battle at the front—one that promises more drama as the 2022 campaign continues to unfold.
2022 Emilia Romagna GP Sprint Race Results
2022 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix Sprint Race, 23 April 2022
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Team | Laps | Time / Retired | Pts. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing RBPT | 21 | 30:39.567 | 8 |
| 2 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 21 | +2.975s | 7 |
| 3 | 11 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull Racing RBPT | 21 | +4.721s | 6 |
| 4 | 55 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | 21 | +17.578s | 5 |
| 5 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren Mercedes | 21 | +24.561s | 4 |
| 6 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | McLaren Mercedes | 21 | +27.740s | 3 |
| 7 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Alfa Romeo Ferrari | 21 | +28.133s | 2 |
| 8 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas Ferrari | 21 | +30.712s | 1 |
| 9 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Alpine Renault | 21 | +32.278s | 0 |
| 10 | 47 | Mick Schumacher | Haas Ferrari | 21 | +33.773s | 0 |
| 11 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | 21 | +36.284s | 0 |
| 12 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri RBPT | 21 | +38.298s | 0 |
| 13 | 5 | Sebastian Vettel | Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes | 21 | +40.177s | 0 |
| 14 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 21 | +41.459s | 0 |
| 15 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes | 21 | +42.910s | 0 |
| 16 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine Renault | 21 | +43.517s | 0 |
| 17 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | AlphaTauri RBPT | 21 | +43.794s | 0 |
| 18 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Williams Mercedes | 21 | +48.871s | 0 |
| 19 | 6 | Nicholas Latifi | Williams Mercedes | 21 | +52.017s | 0 |
| NC | 24 | Zhou Guanyu | Alfa Romeo Ferrari | 0 | DNF | 0 |
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