6 winners and 5 losers for the 2022 emilia romagna grand prix who made the best of the mixed conditions

The Emilia Romagna Grand Prix was hit by rain for the second successive year, with Max Verstappen mastering the conditions while others floundered. We’ve picked out six winners and five losers from Imola.

Winner: Max Verstappen

This weekend could not have gone any largest for Max Verstappen, the Red Bull suburbanite taking pole in qualifying, winning the first F1 Sprint of the season surpassing converting P1 in the Grand Prix into his second victory of the wayfarers – with the fastest lap to boot.

That big haul of points has breathed new life into the reigning world champion’s title challenge. He’s now just 27 points roaming of Charles Leclerc and heads to Miami with the momentum without a commanding performance.

\"1393394015\" — Verstappen is when in the championship running without picking up maximum points

Loser: Charles Leclerc

The highs of leading the F1 Sprint until the last few laps must finger like a long time ago for Charles Leclerc, who suffered a poor start in the main Grand Prix to waif from second to fourth.

Though he recovered to third, a rare error at the machinations late on pitched him into the barriers. He made it when to the pits to take a new front wing, but that dropped him to ninth. He clawed when three places but sixth was at least three places lower than his car was capable of.

Winner: Lando Norris

There’s just something well-nigh Imola that seems to unhook huge results for Lando Norris, the McLaren suburbanite producing a stellar performance in tricky conditions to follow up his podium at last year’s event with his first of this season.

He has now finished on the rostrum in the last three races held on Italian soil (he finished second at Monza) and moves whilom countryman Lewis Hamilton into sixth in the drivers’ championship.

\"1393396222\" — Norris and McLaren have turned their season virtually without just four races

Loser: Carlos Sainz

Carlos Sainz recovered well from a mistake in qualifying to line up fourth for the Grand Prix without a fine performance in the F1 Sprint, but his participation on Sunday lasted less than a minute without he was pitched into the gravel by Daniel Ricciardo.

The Spaniard couldn’t escape, forcing his second successive retirement. It ways he has managed just one full race lap in the last two events and now trails Ferrari team mate Leclerc by 48 points in the championship.

Winner: Kevin Magnussen

Kevin Magnussen’s fine return to Formula 1 unfurled as he widow two points in Sunday’s Grand Prix to the one he earned the day surpassing in the F1 Sprint.

It capped a fine weekend that had seen him secure fourth in qualifying – Haas’s weightier overly qualifying performance – and ways he has now scored in three of the first four races to sit 10th in the drivers’ standings.

2022 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix: Sainz runs into trouble on gravel at Imola start

Loser: Lewis Hamilton

This was a talion weekend for Lewis Hamilton, the Briton finishing a lowly 13th for his first non-points score of the season.

It’s his worst race result since he finished 18th in Azerbaijan last year, when he ran lanugo an escape road at the final restart with two laps remaining while challenging for the lead.

Winner: Valtteri Bottas

Valtteri Bottas’ dream start to life at Alfa Romeo unfurled in Imola, the Finn securing a season-best fifth with a fine performance that saw him heaping the pressure on George Russell in the latter stages.

\"1393397410\" — Bottas exceled in Imola in both the wet and dry conditions

That puts him eighth in the drivers’ standings while Alfa Romeo leap up into fifth in the constructors’ championship pursuit what was their weightier result since the 2019 Brazilian Grand Prix.

Losers: The tifosi

Ferrari’s loyal fanbase came out in gravity at Imola on Sunday, the venue securing a 64,000 sell-out – but they were not rewarded with a victory – or plane a podium.

While Ferrari, who had their chairman John Elkann in town on Sunday, retain the lead in the constructors’ championship, they are now just 11 points superiority of Red Bull.

\"1393393636\" — The tifosi were out in gravity wideness the whole weekend in Imola

Winners: Aston Martin

Aston Martin finally got on the workbench in 2022 – and they did so with both cars as Sebastian Vettel switched to slicks at the right time and ultimately finished eighth.

His team mate Lance Stroll secure well to secure 10th, maintaining his record of finishing in every race this season (and never lower than 13th).

WATCH: Check out the slippery race start at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix as Sainz and Ricciardo tangle

Losers: Alpine

Alpine’s points-scoring run in 2022 came to an end in Imola, with Fernando Alonso retiring early doors without forfeiture from contact with Mick Schumacher.

\"1393342823\" — Another race to forget for Alonso, car forfeiture leading to an early retirement

Esteban Ocon was 11th but dropped to 14th without a five-second time penalty for an unsafe release, ending his seven-race points scoring streak. As a result, Alpine waif to sixth in the constructors’ standings.

Winner: George Russell

George Russell is one of only two drivers to have scored in every Grand Prix so far this year – championship leader Leclerc is the other – with the Mercedes racer delivering a faultless exhibit in Imola.

The Briton comfortably outperformed the W13’s sufficiency in Italy, holding off stern pressure from Bottas – the suburbanite whom he replaced at the Silver Arrows – to finish P4 for his fourth successive top-five finish.

HIGHLIGHTS: Relive the whoopee from the race in Imola, as Verstappen dominates to lead Red Bull 1-2