Verstappen gives ruthless verdict on Hamilton after lapping rival in Imola Grand Prix

Max Verstappen says it was ‘not a surprise’ to lap arch rival Lewis Hamilton during the latter stages of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix on Sunday.

The Red Bull driver took an excellent victory at Imola, leading home team-mate Sergio Perez for a one-two finish which has helped the team reduce the deficit caused by its early season unreliability in both the drivers and constructors’ standings.

The Dutchman started on pole position after overtaking Charles Leclerc on the penultimate lap of Saturday’s sprint race, and controlled the entirety of the Grand Prix from the front, managing the changeable weather conditions well and building up a comfortable gap to Leclerc and Perez behind from the start.

Hamilton, meanwhile, was languishing in the lower reaches of the midfield in a Mercedes car called ‘undriveable’ by team principal Toto Wolff over the radio when the seven-time world champion crossed the finish line for the final time in thirteenth-place.

Verstappen and Hamilton spent the 2021 campaign engaging in one of the most thrilling title battles in the seven-decade history of F1, but now face very different outlooks for the rest of 2022.

The Dutchman is now second behind Leclerc in the drivers’ standings, 27 points off the lead, having lost out on a likely minimum of 36 additional points between the Ferrari after suffering two separate mechanical failures in Bahrain and Australia.

Hamilton, meanwhile, has conceded that he has no chance of winning a record-breaking eighth world championship this season, and is unlikely to even be able to challenge for a race victory in any of the 19 remaining races unless Mercedes can take a significant step forward with their W13 car, which is slower through the corners than its rivals and