The Emilia Romagna Grand Prix produced a gripping and strategically chaotic spectacle, despite the inherent issues with modern F1 cars at the Imola Circuit.
Max Verstappen wove together another brilliant weekend, to add to his stunning exploits in Suzuka, but at the other end of the scale, things could not have started much worse for Franco Colapinto at Alpine.
The intrigue of the intra-McLaren battle continued to blossom, whilst Alex Albon re-enforced the foundations of his and Williams' fairytale campaign.
Yuki Tsunoda was the victim, and cause, of his horrific crash in qualifying. It underscored the critical importance of safety advancements over the past three decades, with the scene of his accident the same place Roland Ratzenberger lost his life 31 years ago.
So, who has made the RacingNews365 list of winners and losers for the 2025 F1 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Imola?
Viewed by others:
Max Verstappen - Winner
Verstappen winning used to be expected. To some, it was boring, even. However, with McLaren's MCL39 proving the class of the field and Red Bull simultaneously a shadow of its former self, there is no guarantee the Dutchman will triumph anymore.
What is - almost completely - guaranteed is the four-time F1 drivers' champion will be box office on any given weekend. Over the past 12 months, the 27-year-old has developed the seemingly unshakeable habit of maximising what is on offer, round after round after round. Meticulous and metronomic.
Imola was no different. Like last year, a difficult Friday subsided into a stunning effort in qualifying. He missed out on pole position this time around, but that set him up beautifully for the calculated, audacious and plainly brilliant move past Piastri at the first corner.
Like in Jeddah, Turn 1 proved race defining and it quickly became apparent he would not relinquish his grip on victory from there.
With his 25 points haul, he has dragged himself back into the drivers' championship fight, now trailing the Australian by just 22 - and Norris by just nine. Game on.
Franco Colapinto - Loser
It is hard to say Colapinto's return to an F1 race seat could have gone much worse - who would not spare a penny for Jack Doohan's thoughts right now?
Ahead of his Alpine debut, the Argentine was given three simple rules by Flavio Briatore for his - in theory should be five rounds, but at this stage who knows - Team Enstone audition: Be fast, score points, and do not crash.
No one could realistically expect him to satisfy the first two criteria immediately upon his return to racing, but on the requirement he truly could have, and should have, accomplished, he failed.
He needed a clean, solid weekend and he could not deliver it. To compound his disappointing display, he hardly enamoured himself to his peers during practice, getting in the way on multiple occasions. It would be harsh to fully place the blame for the 21-year-old's unfortunate grid penalty at his feet, but it is part of a wider context that does not paint a flattering picture.
The grand prix was chaotic and difficult to navigate strategically, so it was no surprise Colapinto had a fairly anonymous display en route to P16. Thankfully, the next four rounds are all on circuits he is also familiar with.
Lando Norris - Winner
Another weekend, another underwhelming qualifying performance from the British driver. Too often he is having to rely on the MCL39 - and his strong race pace - to get him out of a self-inflicted jam.
But Lando Norris knows that. He also knows he is capable of being one of the very best over one lap in F1, as he proved last season with eight pole positions.
That said, he put in another noteworthy performance during the grand prix at Imola and, on account of reducing his team-mate's championship lead to 13 points, is therefore a net winner from the trip to Emilia Romagna.
How he clinically dispatched of Oscar Piastri was also impressive. Yes, he had a tyre advantage, but only just, as he was also on used hard Pirellis. Not the mention the fact the Australian has shown how cunning he can be in wheel-to-wheel combat.
The fact he is only 13 points adrift despite how difficult his season has been says how important his victory - and Piastri's mistake - in Melbourne was. However, it also shows his consistency in race trim. Fix qualifying and he'll be right in the hunt.
Oscar Piastri - Loser
Piastri did so much so well over the round at Imola, but he dropped the ball when it mattered most. Victory was there for the taking and he simply did not clinch it.
Yet again, the six-time grand prix winner emphasised his underlying pace. That is becoming increasingly undeniable. But, whilst he is the read deal, he is not quite the finished article - at this stage, at least.
That was non-more evident than when Verstappen swept around the outside of him through the first corner. Sure, his focus was on George Russell - who had got into second and was right behind him - but he was too cautious, too conservative on the brakes and on his line, and ultimately naive to the risk posed by Verstappen. He needed to be more aware of that lingering threat. If he had been, he would have been poised for victory.
Once behind, he could not live with the Red Bull. Imola is difficult to overtake and the RB21 appears to have taken a step forward with tyre degradation, but Piastri was also lacking the pace that is now expected of him.
This was further compounded by a McLaren strategy that committed him to a two-stopper and dropped him into traffic, thus negating any positive effect of fresh tyres. Christian Horner said the team inflicted a "world of pain" on Piastri. He was right.
Alex Albon - Winner
Alex Albon's imperious, improbable march continues. Three top five results from the opening seven rounds is an exceptional return for the 29-year-old and Williams.
It is remarkable to consider that both can arguably be disappointed with fifth at Imola, something that underpins the progress made over the winter.
Widely considered the first team to have pretty much fully turned its focus to 2026, the performances keep pouring in nonetheless, even with those around the Grove squad delivering upgrades in recent rounds.
Albon himself was particularly impressive during the race. Having only just being out-qualifying by Carlos Sainz in the other FW47, he capitalised on the superior - and better fortuned - one-stop strategy to fight for a podium for much of the afternoon.
He did fall back, and was unlucky in his fight with the robust Charles Leclerc, but to be on 40 points just seven rounds into the year speaks volumes of his exceptional form.
Yuki Tsunoda - Loser
Firstly, it was a huge relief to see Tsunoda walk away unscathed from that terrifying accident in the first part of qualifying, but - and by his own admission - he tried to play the "hero", in Q1 no less, and ruined his entire weekend.
His charge through the field from the pit lane to P10 was well executed and cause for hope at Red Bull, but his points ratio against Verstappen slipped from seven-to-one to almost nine-to-one at Imola. That is Sergio Perez territory.
The Japanese driver is undoubtedly on a steep learning curve with the Milton Keynes squad, but he will not be afforded much time beyond this season, if at all.
The 25-year-old has so much to offer Red Bull, and probably will, but he needs to start delivering soon. Isack Hadjar continues to impress and with Tsunoda now standing on his own two feet without the direct support of Honda, he needs to do his talking on the track.
Most read
In this article
Join the conversation!