Lewis clinched second place in changeable conditions in Imola despite hitting the barrier on lap 31 and falling to ninth position before the race was restarted on lap 34 following a red flag. Valtteri suffered a DNF after an incident with Williams' George Russell on lap 33. Lewis set the fastest lap of the race to claim the bonus point on offer.
Lewis (44 points) leads the Drivers' Championship by 1 point from Max Verstappen (43 points) with Valtteri (16 points) in P5. The Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team (60 points) leads Red Bull (53 points) by 7 points in the Constructors' Championship.
Toto Wolff: Leading the Championship with the fastest lap is one thing but what actually gives it a silver lining or positive connotation today is that we seem to have a really quick race car.
Unfortunately, the crash between George and Valtteri was unnecessary. Valtteri had a difficult first 30 laps and shouldn't have been there but George should have never launched into this manoeuvre considering that the track was drying up. It meant taking risks and the other car is a Mercedes in front of him and in any drivers' development as a young driver you must never lose this global perspective. Lots to learn for him I guess.
Apart from that we had all highs and lows from the incident in the first corner which cost us two tenths in aero performance on Lewis' car. Then we had Lewis hitting the barrier on lap 31. The recovery drive from Lewis after the race restarted was really brilliant, ten out of ten.
Overall, today was very difficult to judge because of the circumstances but we had a very good car today in the wet and in the drying up. We are slowly starting to understand it but according to the data we are still not having a car and power unit that can match the Red Bull Honda.
Andrew Shovlin: On lap 31 it was difficult imagine how things could get any worse. We had Lewis stuck in the gravel with a broken wing and Valtteri out with a massive amount of damage. So, leaving here still in the lead of both championships is quite a relief and I suppose we should be grateful for that.
For Lewis it was very much a race of two halves. The early part was defined by the damage to the front wing after the contact with Max - that improved slightly when the footplate came away completely but we still had a chunk of load and balance missing. As such, we were a bit surprised when Lewis was able to close in on Max towards the end of the intermediate stint. The transition to dry was okay, warm-up was a challenge and I think we look worse than our competitors in this regard but as we didn't have time to change the wing it was always going to be a struggle to put Max under pressure. That became a bit of a moot point when Lewis slid off passing some traffic and lost a load of time and positions. The suspended race allowed us the chance to repair the car and in the final stint we saw what it was capable of. It was a great recovery by Lewis and an impressive fastest lap.
Valtteri's day was even more difficult. He was finding the warm-up more of a challenge than Lewis, struggling mainly with rear grip. That was the case on both inter and slick tyres but on the transition to dry it was particularly bad. He got swamped by a few cars and ultimately, that was what started the events that triggered the crash with George and the end of this race. Overall, a frustrating weekend and one where we have plenty of areas that we need to look to for improvement.
Christian Horner: "It is fantastic for us to get the victory here today, particularly after losing such a close race in Bahrain. Max drove impeccably all afternoon with no mistakes and the Team made some perfectly timed pit stop calls, making this a thoroughly deserved victory and an important one for us. Max was pumped up for the race, with a great start giving him momentum down into Turn 1 where we saw two tough drivers pushing to the limit for track position which is what everyone wants to see. Lewis was still very quick today which could be seen particularly towards the end of the race when they seemed to have very low tyre degradation. I think they maybe had a quicker car than us today but it's great to get that first victory of the season under our belts. It was a real shame for Sergio after such a brilliant day yesterday and nothing went his way which is frustrating for him, but he's becoming more and more comfortable with the car and you can guarantee that he will come back strong. Now we need to build on this momentum for the remainder of the season and we are going to have to go some way to keep Mercedes under pressure."
Andreas Seidl, Team Principal: "An exciting race today and a great show for the fans. A podium for Lando is a great reward for the whole team, and the hard work that's gone in here at the track and back at the factory this weekend - but also for the effort over the winter to get us to this point from the team in Woking and our colleagues at Mercedes.
"Great call today to restart on the Soft tyre after the red flag. That gave us an edge and allowed Lando to take the place from Charles [Leclerc]. Lando was flying all weekend and managed a lot of tricky situations today in difficult conditions. He and his team managed brilliantly to get this well-deserved podium. Daniel did a great job too. He's not yet fully confident in the car - which is understandable - but he put in a clean race, made good decisions and scored a lot of points that will be valuable both for himself and for the team.
"After two strong weekends to start the season, we now have our sights set on keeping the momentum going in Portimao."
Otmar Szafnauer, CEO & Team Principal: "After an Imola weekend that was challenging from a number of perspectives, Lance's hugely impressive drive to seventh place, under pressure all the way through, lifted the spirits of everyone in the team. He had gear shift issues throughout, but managed them very capably, and did very well to hold off a fast-closing Pierre [Gasly] on the final lap. Sebastian had a troubled run that ended in a DNF just one lap from the end, which was disappointing for him and the team, but he got a lot of very useful mileage in the car, which is a positive because he is still playing catch-up to some extent as a result of his lack of running in pre-season testing. Both our cars suffered brake overheating problems on the way to the grid, and we are currently investigating the root cause in order to implement a permanent solution."
Alpine F1 Team scored its first championship point of the 2021 FIA Formula 1 World Championship after a challenging race, which led to Esteban Ocon finishing tenth and Fernando Alonso eleventh in an incident-filled Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
Teams were faced with a difficult decision before the start of the race after a sudden downpour of rain an hour before lights out left some parts of the circuit extremely wet. Esteban opted for the full Wet tyres with Fernando on the Intermediates. On the laps to the grid, Fernando ran wide out of Turn 7, clipping the wall, meaning he had to change front wing.
In slippery conditions, both drivers dropped outside of the top ten with Esteban switching to the Intermediates on lap two under the Safety Car.
Things began to stabilise and, as the track started to dry, dry tyres looked the best option; Esteban fitting Mediums on lap 27 and Fernando following suit a lap later.
Esteban switched to the Softs on lap 31, before a red flag brought the race to a stop following a collision between Valtteri Bottas and George Russell on the entry to turn two.
The race resumed with Fernando twelfth and Esteban thirteenth, the Frenchman switching to Mediums during the red flag stoppage, for the sprint to the end. Both drivers immediately gained a few places and duelled for the final points-scoring position.
Esteban was heaping the pressure on Kimi Räikkönen for ninth but could not make the breakthrough on the experienced Finn. Fernando was just behind as he looked to sneak his way into the points. At the flag, Esteban held onto tenth with Fernando narrowly adrift.
Marcin Budkowski, Executive Director: "We scored our first point of the season today and we had to work hard for it. Both cars had poor starts in wet conditions and lost several positions on the first lap, which is something we need to understand. In the dry, our pace was pretty decent with both drivers together on the track and coming back towards the points positions. Esteban got stuck behind Räikkönen for the final part of the race and couldn't make the move, underlining how difficult it is to overtake here. We leave Imola with bittersweet feelings; pleased to have our first point of the season, but it was a race that didn't go as it could have for us. We move onto the next race hungry for more."
Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow picked up 22 points, courtesy of a fourth place for Charles Leclerc and a fifth for Carlos Sainz in the Gran Premio del Made in Italy e dell'Emilia-Romagna. While the race confirmed that the team is making progress, there's a hint of disappointment as undoubtedly, a podium finish was within Charles' grasp today.
The key moment of the race came when Valtteri Bottas and George Russell crashed at the first corner on lap 32, leading to the race being suspended. At the time, Charles was second, 25 seconds ahead of Lando Norris in the McLaren. The Monegasque had built up that lead driving very quickly and precisely on a track that was gradually drying out, helped by set up choices made yesterday with the engineers in qualifying to run with more aerodynamic downforce. The restart wiped out Charles' advantage and he was then overtaken by Norris and, with a few laps remaining, by Hamilton too.
Sainz also had a very good race. The Spaniard got away very well from eleventh on the grid, making up several places. He then made a few mistakes in the early stages, but once the track conditions stabilised, Carlos was able to match the pace of the quickest, just like his team-mate, in both wet and dry conditions.
Therefore, Scuderia Ferrari can leave Imola knowing that the work carried out on the SF21 has produced a definite step forward compared to last year's car. Furthermore, when compared to the race in Bahrain, the race pace at Imola matched what had been seen in qualifying, better than the closest rivals in the wet and similar in the dry.
Mattia Binotto: On a completely different track and in very different conditions to the first race of the season, this result confirms that the work we are doing is going in the right direction. The fact we are unhappy about not getting at least one driver onto the podium is further proof of that. We can definitely say the outcome of these first two races is a positive one.
Not since the second half of 2019, specifically the races in Japan and Mexico that year, have we had both drivers in the points in two consecutive races. We must continue like this and show, race by race, that we know how to improve. Now I can't wait to go to Portimao for the next Grand Prix!
Jody Egginton (Technical Director): "Today's race was certainly eventful and - although we have scored a few points with Pierre - we have to be honest and say we have made our lives more difficult than they needed to be and have not scored the points that the package was capable of this weekend. Obviously, the entire team is disappointed but together we will review today's race, in an open and pragmatic way, and address various topics that will allow us to deliver a stronger performance at the next Grand Prix."
It would have been such a good story. If ever there would have been a case of picking up where we had left off, the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix would have been it. Our final points of the 2020 season had been in Imola, and for a long time we thought our first points of 2021 would come in the same venue (thankfully a lot earlier in the season than last year).
A chaotic race, started on a wet but drying track with drizzle still falling in places saw Kimi Raikkonen and Antonio Giovinazzi race for most of the day in or about the top ten, determined to get our team off the board for our current campaign on a day of opportunity. Making a good start in treacherous conditions, with spray bringing visibility down to a zero, both drivers raced in P13 and P14, keeping it clean in the opening stages where there was so much to lose.
A terrifying shunt between Bottas and Russell brought out a red flag, after which Kimi and Antonio restarted in P8 and P11. The Finn eventually settled in P9, but came under huge pressure by a train made up by Esteban Ocon, Fernando Alonso and Sergio Perez in the last 12 laps of the race: he had to call upon all his experience to keep them at bay until the chequered flag. What could have been a possible double-points finish was unfortunately nullified by a technical issue on Antonio's car when he was running line astern with his team-mate. The resulting pit stop placed him 14th at the chequered flag, robbing us of having two cars deservedly in the fight for the final two places in the points.
And then, hours after the race, came the cold shower we did not expect, with Kimi handed a 30-second penalty that takes away those two points we fought so hard for. The efforts of a weekend gone, we are left to reflect on the performance we were able to deliver. As predicted, the margins in this part of the field are small – today's result does hurt, but seeing us fight on track like that makes for some tasty encounters expected in the next races...
Today's decision leaves the team dumbfounded. Having already suffered an original disadvantage, with Kimi losing two places under the Safety Car, we were further hit by a disproportionate penalty, unfitting to the original fault, one we incurred by virtue of not endangering the other competitors by overtaking behind the Safety Car. It was a penalty which the stewards themselves struggled to reconcile themselves with, one within which they themselves saw contradictions. One that makes little sense from a sporting point of view. We, nevertheless, take this on the chin. We will use it to grow, and come back stronger. That is what teams do.
Frederic Vasseur: "Once again we demonstrated we have a car that can fight for points on a Sunday, even though we are left to rue not bringing home what would have been a very positive result. The conditions weren't easy and we did a good job as a team to be in the fight. Kimi needed all his experience to keep his rivals behind at the end of the race, while it was obviously very disappointing that a technical problem got Antonio out of a very good position when we were looking at having two cars in the top ten. This issue, and the penalty that took away our two points, aside, today's result gives us confidence for the next races, although it was another reminder of how small the margins are in the midfield and how we have to keep improving to keep ahead of the nearest rivals."
Uralkali Haas F1 Team completed the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix with Mick Schumacher 16th and Nikita Mazepin 17th, held at the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari, Italy, on Sunday.
Both drivers took the Pirelli Cinturato Blue full wet tires for the start of the 63-lap race owing to a downpour during the build-up that left the first sector of the circuit fully soaked. Schumacher gained two spots to hold 16th while Mazepin's VF-21 escaped unscathed after Williams' Nicholas Latifi made contact along the backstraight. Schumacher was caught out by the conditions under the ensuing safety car period and spun into the wall along the main straight but was able to pit for repairs and re-joined the race on Green intermediates, one spot behind his team-mate. Mazepin came in on lap 14, following suit by taking on intermediates, and soon the track dried sufficiently for slicks. Schumacher stopped on lap 22 for Red soft tires while Mazepin boxed three laps later.
The race was halted on lap 33 owing to the debris left in the aftermath of a large collision between Mercedes' Valtteri Bottas and Williams' George Russell into Tamburello. Both Schumacher and Mazepin took on Yellow medium tires for the rolling restart and retained position through to the checkered flag, with Schumacher 16th and Mazepin 17th, logging Uralkali Haas F1 Team's first double finish of the 2021 campaign.
Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen registered the 11th victory of his Formula 1 career, ahead of Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton and McLaren's Lando Norris.
Guenther Steiner: "We got two cars home in what was quite an eventful race with the changing weather conditions. There were a few things thrown our way again but ultimately, we recovered and finished the race with both Nikita (Mazepin) and Mick (Schumacher) at the checkered - which is good. That's what I always want, that we do the laps, and that the guys learn. I want them to keep improving and especially for Nikita, it was good today that he finished the race after missing out in Bahrain. He now has a complete race under his belt. Mick did well to recover from the earlier part of his race. As much as it's not the result that makes you happy, what makes you happy is that we made progress. That was our plan, and if we can continue to work like this - with less mistakes and more performance, that's what we're here for this year."
It was a difficult day for the team with both George Russell and Nicholas Latifi failing to finish the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. The Brit started 12th and the Canadian 14th, both on the intermediate Pirelli tyre following rain shortly before lights out.
In tricky conditions Nicholas' race finished in the barrier on the straight after turn 13 following contact with Nikita Mazepin. After pitting for dry tyres on lap 26, George was having a strong race running in the points. However, an incident with Valtteri Bottas resulted in both crashing out on lap 32.
Dave Robson, Head of Vehicle Performance: It's extremely disappointing to be leaving Imola with neither car having finished the race. We have had a decent weekend throughout, and in tricky conditions today we made good and timely decisions. Although Nicholas found it a little difficult at the start on the Intermediate tyres, he was unfortunate to touch the Haas and crash out. George was good on the intermediate tyres and did a great job behind the safety car to keep the car in a good state. As we moved to slick tyres we were in a strong position and although there was still a long way to go, George was comfortable and managing his car and tyres well. We had the pace and speed to overtake Bottas, and had we been able to make the move cleanly we looked set for a strong finish.
We can take a lot of positives from this weekend as the car and drivers have performed well and have been backed up by some excellent work in the garage and in Grove. We missed a good opportunity to score points today, but we got ourselves into a good position on merit and with many races remaining in the season, we should be confident of getting another good opportunity soon.
The thrilling Imola race, with Pirelli as title sponsor, was interrupted by a red flag after 34 laps to clean debris off the track following an accident. The red flag allowed teams to service the cars and change tyres, meaning that the final part of the race was a 29-lap sprint.
Rain before the start of the race meant that nearly all the cars started on Cinturato Green intermediates, with just four on the Cinturato Blue full wet. There were two safety cars before the red flag, which occurred when the track was almost dry. During the second safety car period all the runners moved onto slick tyres. Everyone selected P Zero Yellow mediums once the crossover point was reached, apart from Haas, which went onto the P Zero Red softs.
Verstappen took the lead at the first corner of lap one from Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton, who had started from pole. Red Bull driver started from the head of the field following the re-start on the medium tyre and held onto his advantage until the end. He then maintained the lead after stopping before Hamilton for P Zero Yellow medium slicks.
Hamilton finished second following a fantastic fightback and claimed the extra championship point for fastest lap, despite being a lap down before the re-start after going off the track. McLaren's Lando Norris was third, using the P Zero Red soft for the final stint.
The combination of rain, safety cars and red flags meant that strategies were a question of reacting to rapidly changing circumstances. Most drivers followed a broadly similar run plan though: starting on Cinturato Green intermediates and then switching to P Zero Yellow mediums from just before the red flag all the way to the end of the race.
Mario Isola: "We had a red flag that split the race into two distinct parts following an incident that underlined the difficulty of Imola, which was made even more complicated by the uncertain and cool weather. With no previous running on the intermediate and wet tyres over the weekend, teams had to work out the crossover points as they went along. But a clear dry line emerged, with Verstappen and Red Bull timing their stop perfectly to move ahead of Lewis Hamilton in the pits. Once the race was re-started after the red flag, most of the drivers used the medium tyres, which provided a good balance between performance and durability throughout the significant portion of the race that was dry. However, a number of the frontrunners - including Norris on the podium - switched to the soft for the re-start, which also performed strongly in the final run to the finish of a memorable race, where we were honoured to be title sponsor".
