Breaking: Max Verstappen Loses His Cool as Lewis Hamilton M…read more
Max Verstappen Loses His Cool as Lewis Hamilton M…read more
Max Verstappen’s usually cool demeanor cracked during Friday’s opening practice for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, as Red Bull’s grip on the 2025 season suddenly felt less certain. From the moment the RB20 rolled out at Imola, the reigning champion was battling a nervous rear end that refused to behave through the circuit’s flowing, technical sequence of corners. About three-quarters of an hour into the hour-long session, Verstappen’s frustration spilled across the radio waves: “I can’t rely on the rear—I’m just drifting everywhere.” A thump of his steering wheel followed, a rare public flash of anger from a driver renowned for icy focus.
While Red Bull engineers scrambled for answers, McLaren delivered the first real statement of the weekend. Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris finished one-two on the timing screens, confirming that the substantial upgrade package fitted to the papaya-orange MCL60B is working exactly as intended. Norris, still buzzing after claiming his maiden Formula 1 victory in Miami two weeks ago, looked immediately at home on European soil. Even more striking was Piastri’s identical pace; the Australian’s lap only fractions quicker than his teammate’s, underscoring how confidently both drivers can now lean on their car.
Red Bull’s uneasy start played out against an intriguing subplot away from the track. Lewis Hamilton—never one to waste an opportunity to stir the competitive pot—dropped a carefully worded bombshell during his regular media briefing. The seven-time champion, asked how he viewed the current balance of power, hinted that the traditional hierarchy may be crumbling faster than anyone expected. “Big upgrades are landing, and the gap is shrinking,” he told reporters with a knowing smile. “When it stops being a one-team show, characters get tested—especially if they’re used to doing the chasing rather than being chased.”
Hamilton’s remark was widely interpreted as a thinly veiled reference to Verstappen’s visible agitation, and it immediately fueled speculation about shifting alliances and technical arms-races behind closed doors. Paddock conversations quickly turned to how McLaren and Ferrari have clawed back several tenths since the start of the year. Ferrari’s own first practice was quietly solid—comfortably inside the top six—suggesting the scarlet cars could be in the mix once parc fermé conditions lock setups for qualifying.
The choice of Imola for Formula 1’s return to Europe only heightened tensions. Last season’s race was wiped off the calendar by severe flooding, so teams arrived this year with pent-up expectations and a backlog of aerodynamic updates designed specifically for this low-speed, high-curb venue. Any weakness shows up instantly here; turn-in instability through Acque Minerali or drifting wide at Rivazza costs not only lap time but tyre life over long runs.
For Verstappen, whose season to date has been an exhibition of metronomic dominance, Friday’s struggle served as a jarring reminder that the field is in no mood to surrender. Red Bull will doubtless work late Friday night, poring over suspension settings and aero maps. Yet the psychological momentum, at least for now, belongs to McLaren—and to Hamilton, who seems to relish the role of elder statesman needling the favourites.
As the sun sets over the rolling hills of Emilia-Romagna, qualifying looms as a genuine knife-edge battle rather than a foregone conclusion. If McLaren’s practice pace translates when the clocks go live, a season previously defined by Red Bull supremacy could witness its first real shake-up. Verstappen may yet regain control, but the grid has smelled vulnerability—and Imola’s ancient grandstands, packed with expectant tifosi, can sense a grand theatre of unpredictability unfolding.
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