Max Verstappen wins the dramatic race of 2021, Lewis settles for second | Emilia Romagna GP

Huge drama at Imola after Verstappen wins from third in the grid, Hamilton makes the gravel but recovers from ninth to second, and Russell-Bottas bring out red flag for huge collision; Hamilton leads Verstappen by single point in championship after two dramatic races in 2021.

On a chaotic and dramatic afternoon which began in challenging mixed weather conditions, Verstappen claimed the lead at the start from third on the grid when he overtook Hamilton as the two title rivals made contact into Turn Two. Verstappen came under pressure from his Mercedes rival around the pit stops, but Hamilton blew his opportunity for the race win when he slithered into the gravel while lapping Williams' George Russell, dropping down the order.

Hamilton had pitted for a new front wing and resumed the race when it restarted in ninth place. However, he drove stirringly from there and took second place from McLaren's impressive Lando Norris with two laps to go.

Leclerc headed Ferrari team-mate Carlos Sainz in fourth and fifth respectively, with Daniel Ricciardo sixth in the second McLaren and Lance Stroll seventh for Aston Martin.

STANDINGS:-

2021 F1 EMILIA ROMAGNA GRAND PRIX - RACE RESULTS
POS	DRIVER	NAT.	TEAM	TIME
1	Max Verstappen	NED	Red Bull Racing	63 laps
2	Lewis Hamilton	GBR	Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team	+ 22.000s
3	Lando Norris	GBR	McLaren F1 Team	+ 23.702s
4	Charles Leclerc	MON	Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow	+ 25.579s
5	Carlos Sainz	ESP	Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow	+ 27.036s
6	Daniel Ricciardo	AUS	McLaren F1 Team	+ 51.220s
7	Lance Stroll	CAN	Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team	+ 51.909s
8	Pierre Gasly	FRA	Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda	+ 52.818s
9	Kimi Raikkonen	FIN	Alfa Romeo Racing Orlen	+ 64.773s
10	Esteban Ocon	FRA	Alpine F1 Team	+ 65.704s
11	Fernando Alonso	ESP	Alpine F1 Team	+ 66.561s
12	Sergio Perez	MEX	Red Bull Racing	+ 67.151s
13	Yuki Tsunoda	JPN	Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda	+ 73.184s
14	Antonio Giovinazzi	ITA	Alfa Romeo Racing Orlen	+ 1 lap
15	Mick Schumacher	GER	Uralkali Haas F1 Team	+ 2 lap
16	Nikita Mazepin	RUS	Uralkali Haas F1 Team	+ 2 lap
DNF	Sebastian Vettel	GER	Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team	62 laps
DNF	Valtteri Bottas	FIN	Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team	34
DNF	George Russell	GBR	Williams Racing	34
DNF	Nicholas Latifi	CAN	Williams Racing	0 laps

-by Amaan Attar