Miami Grand Prix winner Lando Norris pushed his McLaren Formula 1 car as hard as he could to make it two in a row at the 2024 Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix at Imola, crossing the line just 0.7 seconds behind Max Verstappen. Norris capitalized on the reigning champ’s various handling issues during the closing stages of the race, bringing a 4-plus-second gap down to just over half a second. In the end, it wasn’t enough, but it made for an interesting few minutes in an otherwise uneventful race.
It’s a stark contrast from Vestappen’s fortunes this weekend, where he secured pole position, the race win, and oddly enough, another victory in a 24-hour sim race. While the Miami Grand Prix renewed everyone’s hopes that someone else could fight for wins this year, Verstappen’s dominance—albeit with a few struggles sprinkled in—is very much so alive and well.
Still, that shouldn’t downplay McLaren’s return to form, which has seen not just Norris, but also Oscar Piastri put in some incredible performances on Saturday and Sunday. This weekend’s performance by the F1 squad certainly made team boss Zak Brown proud, especially as he dealt with the highs and lows of the organization’s Indy 500 qualifying from afar.
With Ferrari’s home just a couple of hours up the road from Imola, the Scuderia would’ve loved to do better than Charles Leclerc in third and Carlos Sainz in fifth. Regardless, it was a positive showing for the scarlet cars, which despite a questionable strategy showed a strong pace throughout the entire race.
Overall, Imola didn’t disappoint, especially with the various Ayrton Senna memorials happening throughout the week. Former F1 champion Sebastian Vettel put on an emotional tribute to both Senna and Roland Ratzenberger, both of whom celebrated the 30th anniversary of their deadly crashes.
