Verstappen takes over Leclerc at the end of the Sprint

Long outstripped by Charles Leclerc in this Sprint Race, Max Verstappen took advantage of better management of his rubber to beat Charles Leclerc two laps from the checkered flag.

However, things did not start well for Max Verstappen in this first Sprint Race of the season. Surprised by Charles Leclerc when the lights went out, the Batavian was forced to give in as he approached the first braking to let his opponent slip away. Despite an intervention by the safety car after the collision between Pierre Gasly et Guanyu-Zhou from the first round, the reigning world champion did not seem able to stand up to the Monegasque.

With an ambitious vision about to car less fast than that of his rival, Max Verstappen seemed resigned as the end of the Sprint Race approached. But in the last part everything would change between the two men. Thanks to better management of his soft tires, the driver Red Bull managed to gradually reduce the gap with that of Ferrari until entering the DRS zone 4 passes from the end. Increasingly threatening in his counterpart's mirrors, the Dutchman finally made a fatal attack at the start of the 19th of the 21 laps of the race which left Charles Leclerc helpless on the start/finish straight.

Max Verstappen gets the better of Charles Leclerc at the very end of the sprint race and will start in first position in the#ImolaGP this Sunday ! ⚡️🇮🇹

▶ https://t.co/7plkVVV12v pic.twitter.com/qDMcwJeQ82

— CANAL+ F1® (@CanalplusF1) April 23, 2022

The hardest part, Max Verstappen flew towards “victory” and the 8 points awarded to the winner while Charles Leclerc was content to manage his end of the race to secure the 7 units of 2nd place. Starting 7th after average qualifying, Sergio Pérez (Red Bull) completed this first podium of the weekend. See you this Sunday for the revenge and the real race, the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.

Behind Verstappen and Leclerc, Sainz puts on a show

Into the wall during qualifying and forced to start 10th this Saturday, Carlos Sainz got back upright in this Sprint Race where he was one of the main leaders. Wanting to make up for his blunder the day before, Charles Leclerc's teammate was able to make his way through the peloton to move up throughout the 21 laps of the race.

Lando Norris, Daniel Ricciardo, Valtteri Bottas or even Kevin Magnussen appeared in the list of victims of Carlos Sainz during this Sprint Race which finished at the foot of the podium. Enough to build confidence before the Grand Prix this Sunday.

On the side ofAlpine, this first racing exercise of the weekend did not go at all as planned. Fifth on the grid and in a good position to hope to join the fight for the podium, Fernando Alonso was not in his element. Getting off to a bad start, the Bull of Asturias gradually fell back in the hierarchy to finally hang the checkered flag in 9th position sandwiched between the two Haas with Kevin Magnussen 8th and Mick Schumacher 10e.

His teammate Esteban Ocon He couldn't do anything this Saturday. Stuck at the back of the grid after gearbox problems in qualifying, the Norman tried as best he could to come back but had to settle for a discreet 16th place just ahead of his compatriot Pierre Gasly. The latter almost lost everything when he came into contact with Guanyu Zhou. Luckily, the pilot Alpha Tauri was able to leave but not that ofAlfa Romeo which ended up in the wall.

The flight of Charles Leclerc in front of his audience who is ahead of Max Verstappen at the start of this sprint race! ⚡️🔴

Safety car from the first lap with Guanyu Zhou going off the track ❌#ImolaGP 🇮🇹

▶ https://t.co/7plkVVV12v pic.twitter.com/UvDoPdMbGl

— CANAL+ F1® (@CanalplusF1) April 23, 2022

At Mercedes Things did not go well during this Sprint Race. Eliminated in Q2, George Russell and Lewis Hamilton were almost not seen in the broadcast. Placed at the back of the peloton, the two men ranked 11th and 14th respectively, more than 35 seconds behind Max Verstappen.

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