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Red Bull driver Max Verstappen claimed that he decided to "send it" around the outside of Oscar Piastri's McLaren on the opening lap of the 2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. The Dutch driver made an excellent start from P2 behind the Aussie driver, which ultimately proved crucial for his race win in Imola.
The 27-year-old has an excellent record at the iconic Imola track since it returned to the F1 calendar in 2021, with the former winning every edition of the race. Despite multiple stoppages on Sunday afternoon, Verstappen looked unfazed throughout the race and managed it smoothly from the front.
Speaking in his post-race interview with F1TV, Max Verstappen spoke about his overtake on McLaren driver Oscar Piastri on Turn 2 and said:
"The start itself wasn't particularly great but I was still on the outside line, the normal line, so I was like 'well I'm going to try and send it around the outside' and it worked really well. Of course, that unleashed our pace because when we were in the lead, the car was good. I could look after my tyres.
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"Massive improvement from Friday and I'm very pleased with that. The VSC was quite handy to pit. Even then, on the hard compound our pace was strong but then there was a Safety Car, so the field was back together. But on the restart we managed it all pretty well and brought it home."
Max Verstappen was one of the few drivers not to make the additional pit stop, as he managed his tires perfectly as he was in the clear air.
Max Verstappen praises Red Bull for their turnaround in Imola
Red Bull driver Max Verstappen said he was "incredibly proud" of his team for making the changes after Friday that turned the fortunes of the RB21 in Imola.
Reflecting on the importance of the victory, he told the media:
"Incredibly proud of everyone. It's been a very important week for us. The car has performed really well. Also, I think the execution of the whole race, when to pit and the pit stops themselves were all very good."
It was his second race win of the 2025 season for Red Bull after he had earlier won in Japan. With his fourth successive victory in Imola, Max Verstappen closed the gap to Oscar Piastri in the Drivers' standings and trails him by 22 points after seven races.
