Tact and execution: Ferrari pull off impressive drive for Tifosi at Imola

What started out as a grim weekend for Ferrari at the Emilia Romagna GP, with Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton starting from P11 and P12, ended in celebration for the sea of red fans who had hoped for a taste of victory.

It wasn’t an all-out victory celebration for the home crowd at Imola, but the sight of the two Ferraris giving it their all was certainly a Hershey’s Kiss for the ride home.

By the end, Hamilton had secured a P4 finish with Leclerc in P6, and unlike Ferrari this season, it all came together with a good starting and finishing strategy – and clinical execution on the part of both drivers.

Hamilton going with the hard tyre from the outset meant he stayed out longer than the entire top field, who had opted for the medium compound. One by one, the front-runners had to pit for hard tyres while Hamilton stayed out and worked his way up the pack – as did Leclerc.

It was a one-stop strategy for all the teams in the paddock, but the starting tyre was clearly a deciding factor which aided the Prancing Horse. Twenty laps into the race, Hamilton had already worked his way up to P6, while Leclerc had to fight his way back after pitting for the hard tyre. By the midway point, Leclerc had lost vital time due to his two pit stops. Race leader Max Verstappen also pitted on lap 30 for hard tyres.

By the end of lap 43, Hamilton and Leclerc were full steam ahead in P5 and P6 respectively, with the Brit finishing on the medium compound and the Monégasque on hard tyres that were quickly losing grip.

The safety car was deployed on lap 46 after Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli was forced to retire the car due to a power failure – capping off a disappointing home race for the Italian teenager. The Antonelli incident, which took a few laps to clear, forced the pack to close up before the restart. Before that, the entire grid took the opportunity to change tyres for the final six laps.

After discussions with his pit wall that revolved around switching to softs for the final stint, Leclerc opted to stay on his hard tyres, while Hamilton pitted for a fresh hard compound – a move that gave him a little extra grip to fight in the closing stages.

Now, without blowing too much smoke up Ferrari’s tailpipe, let us not forget that Max Verstappen made the McLarens look like Lego cars ever since he overtook pole-sitter Oscar Piastri at Turn 1. Verstappen never lost control of the race and finished with a six-second lead over Lando Norris, with Oscar Piastri in P3.

While Ferrari looked set for a top-five finish, Williams driver Alex Albon was hell-bent on fighting for it – putting up a challenge that eventually earned him a place ahead of Leclerc.

The nail-biting finish culminated in a battle for P4 and P5, with Leclerc, Albon and Hamilton pushing to the limit through Imola – each looking to make a move. But Albon’s attempt to overtake Leclerc at Turn 2 of lap 60 saw him end up in the gravel, losing his place to Hamilton, who was quick to seize the opportunity.

Hamilton’s tyre was in better condition and he overtook Leclerc for P4. Leclerc then lost his P5 place to Albon, finishing the race in P6 and securing desperately needed Championship points for Ferrari.

The Ferrari fight at the end gave the crowd at Imola something to cheer for, with Hamilton drawing a louder ovation from the fans than the race winner – a signal of just how much the drive meant to the Italian outfit and their supporters.

The double points finish at Emilia Romagna means Ferrari are now just 17 points behind Red Bull, who sit third in the Constructors’ standings.