Five winners and five losers from F1's Emilia Romagna Grand Prix

If that was to be the last F1 race at Imola for the foreseeable future, the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix went out with a bang.

A incredible start and the timing of two Safety Car periods swung a race which ended with a 10-lap sprint finish in favour of a surprise victor on a circuit McLaren appeared to have the advantage.

Here are our biggest winners and losers from Imola…

Winner - Max Verstappen

Max Verstappen set up his run to an impressive, dominant victory by outfoxing Oscar Piastri with a stunning around-the-outside overtake into Turn 1 with some brilliant late braking that caught his rival off guard.

That was the race-defining moment which proved critical for Verstappen, who produced a faultless drive to claim an unlikely win given Red Bull’s started the weekend on the backfoot.

It marked an incredible transformation from Red Bull, and the latest sublime performance from Verstappen which is keeping the Dutchman right in championship contention as he seeks a fifth consecutive world title.

Loser - Oscar Piastri

After claiming another impressive pole position, Piastri will walk away from Imola bitterly disappointed not to have converted P1 on the grid into a fourth straight victory.

A cautious Piastri was mugged by Verstappen at the start and lost out on strategy later in the race when he did not pit under a late Safety Car, leaving him a sitting duck to McLaren teammate Lando Norris, who gets an honorary mention as a 'winner' from today. 

As a result, Piastri has seen his championship advantage cut to 13 points.

Winner - Lewis Hamilton

Having been left “devastated” by the performance of his Ferrari car in qualifying, Lewis Hamilton turned in a superb recovery drive from P12 on the grid to take fourth in the Scuderia's first home race of 2025. 

Hamilton benefitted from the timing of the two Safety Cars and an offset strategy during his fight back, which included passing teammate Charles Leclerc in the closing laps with much fresher tyres on his Ferrari.

It was a much-needed morale boost for Hamilton and marked the seven-time world champion’s best result for Ferrari in a grand prix.

Loser - Aston Martin

Aston Martin would have been targeting a double points finish after a brilliant showing in qualifying with their upgraded car, but the Silverstone-based squad come away from Imola empty-handed.

The timing of the two Safety Cars wrecked Aston Martin’s hopes and prevented Fernando Alonso from ending his point-less streak in 2025. The Spaniard referred to himself as “the unluckiest driver ever” over team radio on his way to a frustrated P11.

Winner - Alex Albon and Williams

A fantastic day for Williams as the team sealed a double points finish for the third consecutive race.

Alex Albon matched his best result of the season with an excellent drive to fifth, marking the third time in seven races he has finished in that position, as he strengthened both his and Williams’ championship positions.

It was a more frustrating afternoon for Carlos Sainz, who bemoaned Williams’ strategy, yet the Spaniard still came home eighth to bag his third top-10 appearance on the trot.

Loser - Mercedes and Kimi Antonelli

It proved to be a miserable grand prix for Mercedes, with George Russell delivering a pretty damning assessment of his team’s lack of performance as he slumped to P7.

Russell said Mercedes were “dead slow” and lucky to finish as high as they did after their W16 once again suffered in hotter temperatures - something the Briton acknowledged is the Silver Arrows’ biggest weakness.

While Russell called for urgent solutions, teammate Kimi Antonelli suffered heartbreak by being forced to retire from his first F1 race around his home circuit when a throttle failure struck his Mercedes.

Winner - Isack Hadjar

Another impressive performance from Isack Hadjar, who converted P9 on the grid into ninth place and two points for Racing Bulls with a calm and collected drive in Sunday’s race.

The 20-year-old Frenchmen continues to shine at Red Bull’s sister squad and beat his former teammate Yuki Tsunoda in the process. Hadjar is making a solid case to be the rookie of 2025 so far.

Loser - Charles Leclerc

Leclerc’s placing in the ‘losers’ category is more a reflection of his misfortune, rather than his performance.

The Monegasque had a strong start to Sunday’s race at Imola and looked on course to finish as the lead Ferrari with a combative drive, only for the timing of the Virtual and full Safety Cars to throw a spanner in the works.

Ferrari opted against pitting Leclerc during the late Safety Car which meant he was unable to keep Hamilton and Albon, both equipped with much fresher tyres, at bay despite his best efforts.

Winner - Yuki Tsunoda

Tsunoda may have been beaten by Hadjar’s sister Racing Bulls car but he nevertheless produced a strong recovery drive from the pitlane after his terrifying qualifying crash to take the final point on offer in 10th.

The Japanese driver’s battling performance earned him praise from Red Bull bosses Christian Horner and Helmet Marko and ultimately saw him salvage a solid result from what was shaping up to be a nightmare weekend.

Loser - Haas

A tough weekend for Haas and Esteban Ocon in particular. The Frenchman was slowest in all three practice sessions, 18th in qualifying and his race came to a premature conclusion on Lap 29 due to a technical issue.

Oliver Bearman fared little better as he took 17th after a problem attaching one of his wheels during his pit stop ruined his race.

That came after a frustrating qualifying and Haas demanding a review of the FIA's decision to disallow Bearman’s final lap of Q1, which resulted in the Briton being eliminated with a time only good enough for 19th.