Two races Into the Formula 1 season, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton have clearly established themselves as the class of the field.
Verstappen and Hamilton finished 1-2 in the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Imola, Italy, on Sunday’
Verstappen had a clean race, while Hamilton had to scramble after spinning out midway through the race and falling all the way down to ninth place, one lap back. Hamilton make made us lap, by rule, on during a red-flag period brought out by a crash involving Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas and Williams’ George Russell on Lap 32 of the 63-lap race.
Hamilton came out of the red-flag period flying, and he finally picked off Lando Norris for second place on Lap 60.
Verstappen’s final margin of victory in his 11th career F1 victory was a full 22.0 seconds over Hamilton. McLaren’s Lando Norris finished second, 23.7 seconds back. Ferraris’s Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz finished 4-5.
The race started in wet conditions and ended in the dry.
“It was very challenging, especially at the beginning, very slippery,” Verstappen said. “Choosing the right time to go to the slicks is not easy.”
Verstappen and Hamilton have now split the first two races of the 2021 season.
Hamilton, who grabbed the bonus point for fastest lap, leads the championship by one point over Verstappen, 44-43. Norris is third in the points with 27.
Red Bull’s Dutch driver Max Verstappen (R) drives ahead of Mercedes’ British driver Lewis Hamilton (L) during the Emilia Romagna Formula One Grand Prix at the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari race track in Imola, Italy, on April 18, 2021
Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain driving the (44) Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team Mercedes W12 and Max Verstappen of the Netherlands driving the (33) Red Bull Racing RB16B Honda compete for position on track during the F1 Grand Prix of Emilia Romagna at Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari on April 18, 2021 in Imola, Italy.
Red Bull’s Dutch driver Max Verstappen (R) drives ahead of Mercedes’ British driver Lewis Hamilton (L) during the Emilia Romagna Formula One Grand Prix at the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari race track in Imola, Italy, on April 18, 2021.
Red Bull’s Dutch driver Max Verstappen drives during the Emilia Romagna Formula One Grand Prix at the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari race track in Imola, Italy, on April 18, 2021.
Pierre Gasly of France driving the (10) Scuderia AlphaTauri AT02 Honda leads Valtteri Bottas of Finland driving the (77) Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team Mercedes W12 during the F1 Grand Prix of Emilia Romagna at Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari on April 18, 2021 in Imola, Italy.
Charles Leclerc of Monaco driving the (16) Scuderia Ferrari SF21 on track during the F1 Grand Prix of Emilia Romagna at Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari on April 18, 2021 in Imola, Italy.
Mick Schumacher of Germany driving the (47) Haas F1 Team VF-21 Ferrari with a missing front wing during the F1 Grand Prix of Emilia Romagna at Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari on April 18, 2021 in Imola, Italy.
Sebastian Vettel of Germany driving the (5) Aston Martin AMR21 Mercedes goes wide during the F1 Grand Prix of Emilia Romagna at Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari on April 18, 2021 in Imola, Italy.
Lance Stroll of Canada driving the (18) Aston Martin AMR21 Mercedes and Pierre Gasly of France driving the (10) Scuderia AlphaTauri AT02 Honda on track during the F1 Grand Prix of Emilia Romagna at Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari on April 18, 2021 in Imola, Italy.
Sergio Perez of Mexico driving the (11) Red Bull Racing RB16B Honda passes the Red Bull Racing pitwall during the F1 Grand Prix of Emilia Romagna at Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari on April 18, 2021 in Imola, Italy.
Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain driving the (44) Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team Mercedes W12 makes a pitstop for a new front wing following a crash during the F1 Grand Prix of Emilia Romagna at Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari on April 18, 2021 in Imola, Italy.
Lance Stroll of Canada driving the (18) Aston Martin AMR21 Mercedes runs wide during the F1 Grand Prix of Emilia Romagna at Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari on April 18, 2021 in Imola, Italy.
Kimi Raikkonen of Finland driving the (7) Alfa Romeo Racing C41 Ferrari runs wide during the F1 Grand Prix of Emilia Romagna at Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari on April 18, 2021 in Imola, Italy.
The FIA safety car leads the field during the F1 Grand Prix of Emilia Romagna at Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari on April 18, 2021 in Imola, Italy.
Mercedes’ Finnish driver Valtteri Bottas drives during the Emilia Romagna Formula One Grand Prix at the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari race track in Imola, Italy, on April 18, 2021.
The Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix was red flagged amid dramatic circumstances on Sunday after a huge lap 32 crash involving Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas and Williams’ George Russell
Sergio Perez of Mexico and Red Bull Racing looks on in the Pitlane during the red flag delay period during the F1 Grand Prix of Emilia Romagna at Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari on April 18, 2021 in Imola, Italy.
Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain and Mercedes GP walks in the Pitlane during the red flag delay period during the F1 Grand Prix of Emilia Romagna at Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari on April 18, 2021 in Imola, Italy.
Pierre Gasly of France driving the (10) Scuderia AlphaTauri AT02 Honda and Lando Norris of Great Britain driving the (4) McLaren F1 Team MCL35M Mercedes on track during the F1 Grand Prix of Emilia Romagna at Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari on April 18, 2021 in Imola, Italy.
Lando Norris of Great Britain driving the (4) McLaren F1 Team MCL35M Mercedes leads Charles Leclerc of Monaco driving the (16) Scuderia Ferrari SF21 during the F1 Grand Prix of Emilia Romagna at Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari on April 18, 2021 in Imola, Italy.
Yuki Tsunoda of Japan driving the (22) Scuderia AlphaTauri AT02 Honda during the F1 Grand Prix of Emilia Romagna at Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari on April 18, 2021 in Imola, Italy.
Max Verstappen of the Netherlands driving the (33) Red Bull Racing RB16B Honda leads the field on the first lap after the race restart following a red flag period during the F1 Grand Prix of Emilia Romagna at Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari on April 18, 2021 in Imola, Italy.
Race winner Max Verstappen of the Netherlands driving the (33) Red Bull Racing RB16B Honda passes his team celebrating on the pitwall during the F1 Grand Prix of Emilia Romagna at Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari on April 18, 2021 in Imola, Italy.
Race winner Max Verstappen of Netherlands and Red Bull Racing celebrates in parc ferme during the F1 Grand Prix of Emilia Romagna at Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari on April 18, 2021 in Imola, Italy.
Third placed Lando Norris of Great Britain and McLaren F1 celebrates in parc ferme with his team during the F1 Grand Prix of Emilia Romagna at Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari on April 18, 2021 in Imola, Italy.
Race winner Max Verstappen of Netherlands and Red Bull Racing and second placed Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain and Mercedes GP shake hands in parc ferme during the F1 Grand Prix of Emilia Romagna at Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari on April 18, 2021 in Imola, Italy.
Second placed Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain and Mercedes GP, race winner Max Verstappen of Netherlands and Red Bull Racing and third placed Lando Norris of Great Britain and McLaren F1 stand on the podium after the F1 Grand Prix of Emilia Romagna at Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari on April 18, 2021 in Imola, Italy.
Second-placed Mercedes’ British driver Lewis Hamilton, winner Red Bull’s Dutch driver Max Verstappen and third-placed McLaren’s British driver Lando Norris celebrate with champagne on the podium after the Emilia Romagna Formula One Grand Prix at the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari race track in Imola, Italy, on April 18, 2021.
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