MONDAY MORNING DEBRIEF: Cat and mouse between Verstappen and Norris, but how did Red Bull sneak the victory?

/mmd-imola-2024.webp)
It was all looking quite routine for Max Verstappen until about three-quarters of the way through the race. He’d built his lead over Lando Norris’ McLaren to around 6s in the first stint on his medium compound tyres and now in the second stint of this one-stop race on the hard tyres, he was just maintaining that gap.
He had grabbed pole, led from the start, pulled out of undercut reach, routinely ticked the boxes of victory in a way he’s done countless times before. But around 20 laps into the second stint, his hold on the race began to loosen.
Next Up
Related Articles
'P2 was the maximum we could have achieved' – Antonelli
Who gained and lost the most places at the start in Sepang?
Piastri admits McLaren ‘need to improve’ after Malaysia P6
Hamilton reflects on 'bittersweet' comeback podium in Malaysia
All the key moments from the 2026 Bahrain GP in Malaysia
Leclerc relieved with P4 after everything went ‘wrong’ in Sepang
