Key events
Lap 50/63:
Top 10:
Verstappen
Norris
Leclerc
Piastri
Sainz
Russell
Hamilton
Perez
Tsunoda
Stroll
It’s 5.7sec for Verstappen v Norris.
Lap 49/63: Fifteen laps to go. Norris trails Verstappen by 6sec. Leclerc has fallen back to over 2sec behind Norris.
Lap 47/63: “George Russell is struggling for pace,” says Ted Kravitz of one of those Mercedes machines. “It’s sliding at the front, and sliding at the rear, and the lap times show that.”
Lap 46/63: There is an elevation change of 35metres on the Imola circuit, apparently. It’s a bit like the famous Lord’s slope.
Norris has found a bit more pace. He’s over a second up on Leclerc … he’s escaped the clutches of the Frenchman for now.
Lap 45/63: Top 10: Verstappen, Norris, Leclerc, Piastri, Sainz, Russell, Hamilton, Perez, Tsunoda, Hulkenberg.
Lap 44/63: “You are the fastest car on track,” Leclerc is told by his team on the radio.
Up front, Verstappen leads by 7.5sec.
Lap 42/63: Leclerc’s Ferrari is right on Norris’s tail! Under a second and within DRS range.
“It is I, Leclerc,” he doesn’t say on the radio.
Lap 41/63: Leclerc is catching Norris. The Frenchman is 1.3sec down on the Briton. “He’s trying,” Norris is told by his team on the radio.
“Yep,” Norris replies. “I’m trying too.”
Lap 40/63: The gap between second-placed Norris and third-placed Leclerc is 2sec. Piastri is 2.7sec down on Ferrari’s Frenchman. Then Sainz, in fifth, is a further 5sec back.
The pace of the McLarens seems healthy enough. But Verstappen leads by 7sec now.
Lap 39/63: Public service announcement: Our Premier League football Super Sunday blogs are here:
Lap 38/63: Verstappen, Norris, Leclerc, Piastri, Sainz is the top five.
Lap 37/63: It’s 6.2sec for Verstappen ahead of Norris. Norris’s dad is pictured in the pits. Apparently he missed the last race and watched on telly.
Hamilton sweeps past Perez at Tamburello, which is proving to be a popular overtaking spot. The seven-times world champion is now running seventh.
Lap 36/63: Hamilton is right on Perez’s tail in the battle for seventh.
“Feisty stuff,” says the commentator. Which is fair.
By the way, everyone’s pitted at least once.
Lap 35/63: Verstappen has 6.4sec on Norris.
Places six to 10 are as follows: Russell, Perez, Hamilton, Stroll, Magnussen.
Lap 34/63: Albon has had a penalty for an ‘unsafe release’ from that pesky pitstop. He’s running a lap down at the back of the grid. Lacklustre stuff.
Lap 33/63: Top five: Verstappen, Norris, Leclerc, Piastri, Sainz.
Lap 32/63: Thoughts? Reflections? Email me.
Lap 31/63: Now Russell of Mercedes has a look at Tamburello, and overtakes Perez.
Verstappen’s lead is creeping out. It’s 6.64sec now. Everything’s going nicely for Red Bull.
Lap 30/63: Red Bull’s Verstappen leads Norris by 6.3sec.
Sainz overtakes Perez at Tamburello and is up to fifth. The tifosi applaud.
Lap 29/63: Hamilton indeed did make an error and veered into a run-off area at Acque Minerali. We are shown a replay. No major harm done. Tsunoda pulls off a lovely overtaking move on a back marker.
Lap 28/63: Sainz pits. Verstappen retakes the lead. Hamilton pits too. He’s back out in ninth place. Norris is second and Leclerc third … so we are back where we started.
Top 10 after 27 laps: Sainz, Hamilton, Verstappen, Norris, Leclerc, Piastri, Perez, Russell, Stroll, Magnussen.
Lap 26/63: It looks like Hamilton might have gone off track. His tyres are looking a bit dusty. The recent plethora of pitstops have added a bit of spice.
Lap 26/63: Piastri sets the fastest lap. He is flying on fresh rubber.
Lap 26/63: Top five: Leclerc, Sainz, Hamilton, Verstappen, Norris.
Lap 25/63: Now Verstappen comes in for a fresh set of tyres. He comes back out on track in fourth place. Hamilton is up to third. Leclerc and Sainz are now one and two, having not pitted.
Lap 24/63: Now Piastri pits … and Norris gets past Perez on his fresh tyres! Following Piastri’s stop, Norris is back up to fifth, 14sec behind Hamilton, now fourth.
Lap 23/63: Norris pits! It’s a handy enough 2.4sec stop.
He re-emerges side-by-side with Perez, and the British driver is now running seventh.
We’re told this is the longest pit lane exit on the calendar.
Lap 21 of 63: What’s the word for this? Dull? Boring? Call it what you like. It ain’t very exciting. Sorry, and all that. Maybe things will improve. And of course it’s impressive from Verstappen and Red Bull that they are apparently crushing the hopes of a resurgent McLaren with such efficiency.
Lap 20/63: McLaren’s Piastri continues to harry Sainz of Ferrari in fourth. The Mercedes team principal, Toto Wolff, is pictured back in the pits looking fairly sombre.
Lap 18/63: Red Bull’s Perez has veered off track into a run-off area and lost about five seconds. He’s running eighth. Lance Stroll is now 1.5sec behind him in his Aston Martin.
Lap 16/63: It’s 5.1sec now for Red Bull and Verstappen up top. McLaren will be reasonably happy with how they are competing though, you’d think. Norris is doing the best he can.
Lap 15/63: “That four and a half seconds is crucial for Red Bull,” Ted Kravitz says of Verstappen’s lead. “It means they can react to whatever Norris or Leclerc are doing behind them.”
It’s looking like a procession up front.
Lap 14/63:
Verstappen leads by 4.6sec for Red Bull now.
The top 10:
Verstappen
Norris
Leclerc
Sainz
Piastri
Russell
Hamilton
Perez
Stroll
Ocon
Lap 13/63: Verstappen leads Norris by 3.2sec.
Tsunoda pits for RB Honda.
