World Championship after Imola: red flag prevents Verstappen from becoming new leader
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- GPblog.com
For a moment it looked as if Max Verstappen would become the first Dutchman ever to lead the Formula 1 World Championship, but it didn't come to that thanks to a tremendous overtaking performance by Lewis Hamilton. The Briton defended his leading position in the World Championship with verve by seizing the extra point for the fastest lap.
Had the red flag not been there, Hamilton would have had to replace his front wing while everyone else continued. Luckily for the Brit, Valtteri Bottas and George Russell collided and caused a break. This allowed Hamilton to move up from ninth to second place in around thirty laps.
The difference between Verstappen and Hamilton is now only one point. The new number three is Lando Norris who, after his fourth place in Bahrain, now has fifteen points. Verstappen has 43 points, Norris has 27. Behind him is Charles Leclerc who managed to collect 20 points during the first two Grands Prix of the season.
World Championship position after ImolaGP
1. Lewis Hamilton - 44 points
2. Max Verstappen - 43 points
3. Lando Norris - 27 points
4. Charles Leclerc - 20 points
5. Valtteri Bottas - 16 points
6. Carlos Sainz - 14 points
7. Daniel Ricciardo - 14 points
8. Sergio Perez - 10 points
9th Lance Stroll - 7 points
10th Pierre Gasly - 4 points
11th Yuki Tsunoda - 2 points
12th Esteban Ocon - 2 points
13th Fernando Alonso - 1 point
Kimi Raikkonen, Antonio Giovinazzi, George Russell, Sebastian Vettel, Mick Schumacher, Nikita Mazepin and Nicholas Latifi did not score any points in 2021.