It seems that far the stratospheric duel of the end of last season between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton.
The first, reigning world champion, won this Sunday on the Enzo and Dino Ferrari circuit in Imola (Italy), even giving himself the right to take a turn at the Briton.
Starting in first position, the Dutchman dominated this race head and shoulders.
His announced rival for the season, championship leader Charles Leclerc (Ferrari), who started second, finished in 6th place, far behind the podium completed by Sergio PĂ©rez (Red Bull) and Lando Norris (McLaren).
In front of an audience yet committed to his cause, Leclerc never managed to take the advantage over the German.
The Monegasque got off to a bad start, dropping to 4th place before moving up one position.
But on the 54th lap (out of 63), the Ferrari driver made a mistake, falling quickly to the middle of the classification.
He still remains at the top of the drivers' standings with a 27-point lead over his rival from Red Bull.
In front of stands all in red lined with the colors of Ferrari, Verstappen thus won his second victory this season after Saudi Arabia.
The double for Red Bull with Max Verstappen who wins on Ferrari land at #ImolaGP!
🏆🇮🇹
▶️ https://t.co/7plkVVV12v pic.twitter.com/iwz2tHchkP
— CANAL+ F1® (@CanalplusF1) April 24, 2022
The other Ferrari driver, Carlos Sainz, was once again forced to retire after a collision on the first lap with Daniel Ricciardo's McLaren.
This is the second withdrawal in a row for the Spaniard after Australia, who, second in the championship before the Italian round, fell to 5th place.
On the Mercedes side, the reigning world champion team, the performance of George Russell, who started from 11th place to climb to 4th place at the end of the race, is struggling to mask the difficulties of his teammate Lewis Hamilton.
Fourteenth at the start of the race, the seven-time world champion finished in a painful 13th place.
