An old school circuit such as Icola, Italy, has exposed the successes of a team and a pilot and the tremendous sports and strategy errors of those who want to opt for the title. The successes came from the hand of Verstappen and Red Bull. From the moment of the exit to the decision of not for so soon, the Dutch was intractable. It is true that the first neutralization, virtual, benefit and took the opportunity to replace tires, but the important decision was already taken. In the opposite case was the pilot who made the “pole” and who lost the leader as soon as he left. Piastri and his team decided to change wheels very soon with the idea of going to another stop, however, this tactical approach and the two neutralizations burst their initial idea.
Verstappen left solo, McLaren doubted the strategy and the most benefited of this mess was Norris, who replied the movements of the pilot of the energy team. He finished second after advancing his partner Piastri and hooked again in the fight for the title. The heat played a bad pass to engineers and pilots because they went out to race without certainty about the behavior of the tires. Uncertainty cost Piastri a better result, which was also the victim of an impressive overtaking by Verstappen in the first braking.
The fourth place was for an incredible Lewis Hamilton, who after disaster lived yesterday in classification with the Ferrari, risked with his tactics, came out with hard rubber and little by little, with neutralizations included, reached fourth just ahead of Alex Albon. Sainz’s partner was around podium stalls for lengthening his presence on the track before the first stop. It ended fifth.
The sixth place went to Leclerc ahead of Russell and the Spanish Carlos Sainz, who also did not have the success of his strategy team and put him very soon. He finished eighth, added points, but his partner Albon, with the same car, crossed the finish line in fifth place.
For his part, Fernando Alonso was eleventh. Aston Martin’s improvements worked, but in the career rhythm it was not enough. Nor was the Asturian luck because in the second just neutralization he had passed through the boxes and had to expect another complete turn to change rubber. If I had caught him a little earlier, perhaps he had entered into the dot zone. The car’s performance is good to a single round for next week in Monaco, where Alonso can opt for the podium.
Thus we have lived the GP Emilia Romagna 2025 F1: 7th Carrera del Formula 1 World Cup in Icola