John N
Max Verstappen scored the win in the first sprint of 2022, overtaking Charles Leclerc with two laps remaining to secure the best starting position for Sunday’s race.
That winning moment! 😍
Max left no stone unturned in his quest for victory against championship leader Charles Leclerc! 🔥#ImolaGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/lJhc1xSQFc
— Formula 1 (@F1) April 23, 2022
Max Verstappen wins the first #F1Sprint of the season! 🙌
The Dutchman put in an incredible stint to take the lead from Leclerc in the final laps 👊#ImolaGP #F1 @redbullracing pic.twitter.com/CjTx84fLdX
— Formula 1 (@F1) April 23, 2022
On Friday, wet qualifying set the grid, Verstappen took pole over Leclerc while Lando Norris and Kevin Magnussen led off-row two. A revamped points system now awards points to the top eight finishers rather than the top three—more motivation to go all out on Saturday afternoon when clouds spit with rain.
Leclerc, to a rapturous reception from the Tifosi, took the lead off Verstappen as the lights went out—only for the Safety Car to interrupt proceedings as Zhou Guanyu (DNF) and Pierre Gasly (P19) made contact through Turn 9 on Lap 1. Green-flag racing would resume on Lap 5; at that point, Leclerc led Verstappen.
Five laps later, Norris was in third place. The championship leader skated away, Verstappen in tow. The Dutchman loomed in Leclerc’s mirrors throughout and was in DRS range with a handful of laps remaining; he passed Leclerc on Lap 28 of 70 and held onto the lead for two laps before pitting for new tires.
FORMULA 1 ROLEX GRAN PREMIO DEL MADE IN ITALY E DELL’EMILIA-ROMAGNA 2022 – SPRINT
| Pos | Driver | Time/Retired | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 30:39.567 | 8 | |
| 2 | +2.975s | 7 | |
| 3 | +4.721s | 6 | |
| 4 | +17.578s | 5 | |
| 5 | +24.561s | 4 | |
| 6 | +27.740s | 3 | |
| 7 | +28.133s | 2 | |
| 8 | +30.712s | 1 | |
| 9 | +32.278s | 0 | |
| 10 | +33.773s | 0 | |
| 11 | +36.284s | 0 | |
| 12 | +38.298s | 0 | |
| 13 | +40.177s | 0 | |
| 14 | +41.459s | 0 | |
| 15 | +42.910s | 0 | |
| 16 | +43.517s | 0 | |
| 17 | +43.794s | 0 | |
| 18 | +48.871s | 0 | |
| 19 | +52.017s | 0 | |
| NC | DNF | 0 |
Completing the top three was Verstappen’s Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez, who made up three places within the first ten laps and pried P3 off Norris on Lap 11 with DRS.
Norris dropped to P5 for McLaren, Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz up six places having crashed out of Q2, which caused him to start 10th on Saturday. Sainz claimed P4 off the McLaren with just two laps remaining.
That left Daniel Ricciardo sixth, where he started, ahead of a fast-moving Alfa Romeo of Valtteri Bottas. The latter took P7 off medium-tired Haas driver Kevin Magnussen late in the Sprint.
Magnussen held on for the final point, finishing ahead of Alpine’s Fernando Alonso in P9 – who started fifth but couldn’t contend with his rivals’ pace on the softs – and the other Haas of Mick Schumacher, who took P10 on mediums.
George Russell recovered back to 11th, having lost places at the start, finishing ahead of AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda and the Aston Martin of Sebastian Vettel. He gradually fell out of the top 10 and 13th by the flag. Lewis Hamilton started 13th and finished 14th in another tough showing for the Silver Arrows. Lance Stroll rounded out the top 15 for Aston Martin, having started P15 for the Sprint.
Gearbox issues put Esteban Ocon 19th for the start of the Sprint, and he made up three places for P16 in the Alpine, keeping Gasly – who collided with Zhou at the beginning and pitted for a nose change – 17th. Williams’ Alex Albon started last due to a brake fire in qualifying and ended up 18th – his teammate Nicholas Latifi 19th, with Zhou, the sole retiree on Saturday. Sunday will therefore see Verstappen start first ahead of Leclerc, with Perez and Sainz sharing the second row.
