Max Verstappen started from pole and cruised to a second season win, and the 22nd of his career, with home favorite and Ferrari standings leader Charles Leclerc only sixth after a late error.
Sergio Perez took advantage of Leclerc’s poor start to skip him into second and held on to deliver a Red Bull one-two with minimal fuss ahead of Lando Norris for McLaren.
A wet though drying track at the race start promised intrigue but with further rain largely staying away from Imola’s Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari, Verstappen posted the most routine of victories.
Leclerc still leads the standings with 86 points going into the May 8 Miami Grand Prix with Verstappen, who also won Saturday’s sprint race and took the fastest lap, behind on 59.
“Lovely Sunday!” Verstappen radioed his Red Bull team on what was actually a dreamy, overcast and misty race day.
“It’s always tough to achieve something like that [maximum points] but already yesterday and the day before, we were on it and it was looking like a strong weekend,” he said afterwards.
“Today, you never know with the weather how competitive you are going to be but I think we did very well and this one-two is very deserved.”
As for Leclerc, he said he was “too greedy” and “paid the price for it and lost seven potential points. It is a shame, it is seven points that are valuable at the end of the championship for sure and this shouldn’t happen again.”
Final standings:
1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
2. Sergio Perez (Red Bull)
3. Lando Norris (McLaren)
4. George Russell (Mercedes)
5. Valteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo)
mf/ (dpa/AP)
