Max Verstappen seals Sprint victory with fine overtake on penultimate lap at Imola

Max Verstappen sealed victory in the Sprint at Imola on Saturday afternoon, after executing a top class overtake on Charles Leclerc on the penultimate lap.

The two have enjoyed some spectacular battles so far this season, though it’s Leclerc that is currently well on top in the Drivers’ standings thanks to the extra reliability he has had in his Ferrari compared to Max’s Red Bull.

Verstappen has shown when the car finishes it finishes first, though, and that trend continued in the Sprint, as he recovered from a poor start off of the line to take victory and set himself up for a P1 start for Sunday’s Grand Prix.

P1 is where it started for him today, of course, but a sluggish launch allowed Leclerc to take the lead into the first corner, and that is something Max will look to avoid a repeat of tomorrow afternoon.

From there the pair, as they so often have this season, pulled away from the field, with Lando Norris in third place in the McLaren.

The Briton just couldn’t keep pace with the top two, and soon he’d end up losing P3 as well, as Sergio Perez overhauled him at the halfway point.

Further back, Carlos Sainz recovered from his crash in qualifying yesterday to also overtake Norris and finish fourth, whilst Daniel Ricciardo filed in behind his team-mate to finish 6th.

Valtteri Bottas would take 7th, meanwhile, ahead of Kevin Magnussen in the Haas who took the final championship point.