IMOLA, ITALY - APRIL 24: Max Verstappen of the Netherlands driving the (1) Oracle Red Bull Racing RB18 on track during the F1 Grand Prix of Emilia Romagna at Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari on April 24, 2022 in Imola, Italy. (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images) // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool // SI202204240482 // Usage for editorial use only //
On April 24 2022, Max Verstappen won the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix in about the most emphatic way a driver can. He had pole position, won the race, set fastest lap and led every lap, completing a grand slam at Imola.
Verstappen had been quick all weekend, but Sunday was the part that gave the result its proper weight. Once the lights went out, he controlled the race from the front and never really let it turn into a contest. Sergio Perez made it a Red Bull one-two, with Lando Norris finishing third for McLaren, but the headline belonged comfortably to Verstappen.
Max Emilian Verstappen
- Races (starts):235
- Wins:71
- Podiums:127
- Pole positions:48
- Fastest laps:37
- Driver of the Day:49
- World titles:4
- Points (total):3452.5
Data source: F1DB (GitHub)
A grand slam is one of those bits of F1 jargon that sounds slightly too tidy until someone actually pulls one off. To qualify, a driver needs pole, the win, fastest lap and every lap led. Verstappen did all of it at Imola, which made this more than a routine victory in the early phase of the 2022 season. It was total control, with the paperwork to prove it.
There was also a little extra oddness to this one because it came on a sprint weekend. Verstappen had already taken first in qualifying on Friday, won the sprint on Saturday and then converted that into victory on Sunday. Formula 1’s own post-race stats package noted that it was the first grand slam in F1 history in a weekend where a driver had taken P1 on the grid twice. Very modern format, very old-school domination.
IMOLA, ITALY - APRIL 24: Race winner Max Verstappen of the Netherlands and Oracle Red Bull Racing celebrates with his team after the F1 Grand Prix of Emilia Romagna at Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari on April 24, 2022 in Imola, Italy. (Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images) // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool // SI202204240487 // Usage for editorial use only //
Ferrari had started 2022 strongly and arrived at Imola carrying serious momentum, so Verstappen producing that kind of performance on Italian soil gave the result a sharper edge. Charles Leclerc, who had led the championship coming into the weekend, finished only sixth after a late mistake, and the standings suddenly looked far less comfortable from Ferrari’s side of the garage.
Imola therefore became one of the key early markers of Verstappen’s title defence. Not because one April race settled anything on its own, but because it showed exactly what Red Bull and Verstappen looked like when everything clicked: fast enough to take pole, calm enough to control the start, decisive enough to disappear and efficient enough to pick up the fastest lap for good measure. F1 does not hand out many perfect Sundays. This was one of them.
