What looked set to be a straightforward victory for Max Verstappen turned into anything but that at Imola.
The Emilia Romagna Grand Prix has a reputation for being difficult to overtake and that proved to be the case again on Sunday.
However, speaking on the team radio, via the Formula 1 website, Max Verstappen wasn’t happy during the final laps of the race.
It was far from the most exciting race of the season until the last few laps when Lando Norris extracted every bit of performance out of his recently upgraded McLaren.
The Brit was quickly closing the gap and finished the Grand Prix less than a second behind his friend and rivals.
Verstappen didn’t have the easiest run to the chequered flag at Imola in his Red Bull and wasn’t helped by Visa Cash App RB driver Yuki Tsunoda.
The Japanese driver would love to be his teammate next year but won’t be in his good books after this race.
READ MORE: Red Bull driver Max Verstappen’s life outside F1 from net worth to girlfriend
Max Verstappen irate with Yuki Tsunoda during Imola Grand Prix
For so long, Max Verstappen winning races in Formula 1 has been a very simple affair.
He would typically start the race, navigate any chaos at the first corner and drive off into the distance.
However, Ferrari started the season with a car that kept them on their toes and McLaren are now the best of the rest with a car that might be on the same level as the RB20.
Lando Norris proved in Miami that when the opportunity presents itself he’s capable of being a race winner and in the final 10 laps he sensed an opportunity.
Suddenly, he was taking a lot of time out of Verstappen who was one track limits warning away from being given a time penalty.
As Norris was approaching him at Imola, Verstappen needed all the help he could get but didn’t receive it from Yuki Tsunoda.
The Japanese driver – who doesn’t have a podium to his name after more than 70 Grand Prix – was trying to cling onto the final point after a brilliant qualifying session.
He managed to do so but there might be an awkward conversation to be had in the Red Bull paddock after the race.
READ MORE: Visa Cash App RB driver Yuki Tsunoda’s life outside F1 from height to parents
Max Verstappen wins Emilia Romagna Grand Prix under pressure from Lando Norris
On Lap 56 of the race, Verstappen was approaching the Tosa hairpin with Tsunoda ahead of him.
The 24-year-old appeared to be quite far ahead of him but Verstappen ran slightly wide and he looked like he suffered in the dirty air.
Verstappen made his feelings about Tsunoda clear over the radio as he tried to take victory at Imola and said: “Can he let me by [and] be any more stupid?”
READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Red Bull Racing from engine to Ford links
Max Verstappen’s tyres had gone at that point in the race and he had less battery available than Norris during the final few laps.
Norris was only a few hundredths of a second away from having DRS going into the final lap making an overtaking opportunity virtually impossible to create.
However, the prospects of Red Bull being challenged every week looks more and more likely now with McLaren on their level.
Oscar Piastri also looked rapid at times during the Grand Prix and it would have been fascinating to see what he could have done if he started on the front row.
Monaco will be even more difficult to overtake at than Imola, making next Saturday’s qualifying session one of the most important hours of racing so far in 2024.
The post ‘Any more stupid’: Max Verstappen left absolutely fuming with 0-podium backmarker during Imola Grand Prix appeared first on F1 Oversteer.