Max Verstappen overtook F1 championship rival Charles Leclerc on the penultimate lap of the sprint race at Imola, claiming eight crucial championship poiꦿnts and first place on the grid for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.

After losing out to Leclerc at the start, Verstappen bided his time as he preserved his tyres before going on the attack in the closing l♑aps.

Red Bull’s superior tyre management and straight-line speed allowed Verstappen to reclaim P1 on Lap 2♉0.

• Verstappen fights back to beat Leclerc to Imola sprint race win
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The RB18 was also working well in the hands of Sergio Perez, who got within a couple of seconds of🔯 Leclerc on the final lap after starting dowꦜn in seventh.

Why Verstappen will beat Leclerc again

The sprint race at Imola was a nice snippet into how Sওunday’⛎s grand prix might play out between F1 title rivals Leclerc and Verstappen.

Even though the F✅errari driver got the better start from second on the grid, Verstappen’s♐ superior tyre management proved to be decisive. 

The Dutchman remained patient and showed why he is the reigning F1 champion, ultimately seizinꦡg his chance at Tamburello on Lap 20 as he went side-by-side with his former ka꧒rting rival. 

Red Bull’s race pace advantage was also highlighted by Perez’s fightback through the fi𝕴eld.

Starting from seventh on the grid, the Mexican quick🌃ly moved up the orde🥂r, finding himself in third behind Leclerc.

Had the sprint race been a couple of laps longer, there’s no doubt t☂hat Perez would have been able to breeze past♌ Leclerc for second place.

Looking ahead to😼 the race, teams will have free tyre choice meaning Ferrari could opt for the mediums given i💧ts graining issues, while Red Bull may choose to run the softs again given how well it looked after them.

Red Bull will be 🌃confident regardless of what tyre or what the weather is doing.

Verstappen stormed to pole position by 0.7s, even though he lifted on his best lap, in the wet conditions and his superior🍸 tyre management in the sprint should make him ꩵthe favourite for the main event on Sunday afternoon.

The Red Bull’s superior pace on the straights is another string to its bow, hence why we’ve tipped Verstappen to claim h🐻is second victory of the season should his RB18 remain reliable.

A Mercedes recovery?

Mercedes’ miserable weekend continued at Imola after it saw both cars knocked out ꦫin Q2 for the first time☂ since the 2012 Japanese Grand Prix. 

Both George Russell and Lewis Hamilton were un💯able to make any significant progress during the sprint race, with the Mercedes W13 lacking straight-line speed and the various DRS trains making overtaking diꦕfficult. 

In theory, Me൲rcedes should fare better on race day given it has often performed better on heavy fuel looking back at the three previous raꦅces.

However, with limited ove🌳rtaking opportunities and a lack of practice time to improve the car setup, is it realistic to see either Hamilton or Russell in the top six before the end of the race on Sunday?

Tyre wa🃏rm-up has been a big issue for Mercedes and with temperatures expected to ♓be cooler (and there is a serious threat of rain), it could be another difficult day for the eight-time world champions. 

R𝓀ussell has hinted that Mercedes will need to be bold with the strategy to rescue a torrid weekend for the team.

If Mercedes c💫an leave Imola with two cars inside the top 10, then it should be very content with its Imola weekend.

Eyes on the weather

Like on Friday, rai♊n is forecast on Sunday with the 🎉potential for showers.

It was red flags galore during qualifying with the session halted on five separate occa🍒sions as the drivers struggled to get to grips with their 2022 machines in slippery conditions.

Wet-affected races🥀 ar𒅌e always chaotic, with last year’s Emilia Romagna GP no different.

Verstappen ultimately took the win in 2021 but we saw Valtteri Bo෴ttas and Russell dramatically collide on the start-finish straight, while Ha﷽milton recovered from the gravel trap to finish second.

♏Rain always spices up the show so that’ll be something to keep an ꧑eye on ahead of the grand prix.

Prediction

While Red Bull and Ferrari look to be evenly matched at the front of the field, the former’s superior straight-line speed and tyre degradation, particularly on the soft compound, will tip th🦄e race in 𒁃its favour.

Perez looks to be in fine form once again so a Red Bull 1-2 could be a real possibility should the Mexican mღake a good start from third. 

Third: Sergio Perez (Red Bull)

Second: Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)

Winner: Max Verstappen (Red Bull)