F1 Power Rankings: Does Norris close the gap on Verstappen after Imola?

Max Verstappen had a tougher weekend than usual at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. With, what seemed like, a poor start during free practice on Friday, the Dutchman managed to work through to take a victory on Sunday. He received a lot of pressure from Lando Norris who is starting to close the gap in the power rankings.

At the Imola Grand Prix, Verstappen managed to take his 59th victory, in a weekend where things just did not seem to go Red Bull's way. "Verstappen and Red Bull appeared out of sorts when the Imola weekend got under way, ending Friday’s running “severely off pace” via several off-track excursions. But driver and team got their heads together after that, with the Dutchman pulling off a brilliant lap to beat the McLarens and Ferraris to pole and converting it into the win on race day – keeping his cool as Lando Norris closed in late on," the F1 power ranking judges said.

Norris was also brilliant during the race, according to the judges. For this reason, both the Brit and Dutchman shared first place with a 9.2. "Norris pushed Verstappen all the way in the closing stages of the race as tyre degradation and confidence shifted in the Briton’s favour."

Despite the efforts, the Briton could not secure a second victory in a row. He crossed the line less than a second after Verstappen.

Norris' teammate Oscar Piastri was not far behind him. The Australian was awarded third place by the judges with a score of 8.4. Charles Leclerc was awarded a shared fourth spot along with Yuki Tsunoda. They shared an 8.0 rating. Rounding out the Power Rankings are Nico Hulkenberg (7.4), George Russell (7.2), Esteban Ocon (6.8) and a shared ninth place with a score of 6.6 for Carlos Sainz and Lewis Hamilton.

With his victory on Sunday, Verstappen creeps forward into a lead over Norris. Fernando Alonso has moved down four spots. Sergio Perez is also in danger of leaving the top 10.