Image Credits - Planet F1
Red Bull driver Max Verstappen won the first Sprint race of the 2022 season at the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix on Saturday.
In what was a sensational Saturday Sprint race at Imola, Max Verstappen fought back from his own poor start to regain 1st place and take the win. The Dutchman, who started the race in pole position, allowed Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc to take the lead before overtaking the Monegasque on the penultimate lap of the race.
Verstappen was in second place and chasing the Ferrari ahead of him for the majority of the Sprint as quickly as the lights went green. But by saving his tyres and attacking Leclerc towards the end of the Sprint, Verstappen eventually got the win and 8 points as well.
Max Verstappen will now start Sunday’s main race in pole position, ahead of Championship leader Charles Leclerc. Red Bull’s Sergio Perez gained four places to finish P3 as Carlos Sainz managed a P4 finish after starting 10th.
McLaren duo of Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo finished P5 and P6 respectively ahead of Valtteri Bottas in P7. Kevin Magnussen, who started in P4 picked up the last point for the Sprint qualifying session as the Haas driver finished P8.
Surprisingly or unsurprisingly, the Mercedes duo of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell were nowhere near the points. Hamilton finished P14 while Russell managed a P11 finish.
Alfa Romeo’s Guanyu Zhou had a crash with AlphaTauri driver Pierre Gasly on the first lap of the race and failed to complete the race.
Follow our dedicated Formula One page for instant Formula One news and updates