'Win it or bin it': Verstappen's flawless race puts Piastri on notice as championship battle heats up

Australian fans may be yearning for Oscar Piastri to take the 2025 Formula 1 world championship but Max Verstappen's flawless victory in Imola reminded them that there is still ample time for the Red Bull driver to run down the Australian from behind.

Verstappen crafted his victory out of a first lap overtake at the Tamburello corner, flying around the outside of the McLaren driver. He picked up significant points as a result, putting a new complexion on the battle for the title.

Piastri's teammate Lando Norris lamented that Red Bull and Verstappen had the fastest car out in Imola and their newfound pace can notably switch up the standings.

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"What was our biggest strength two weekends ago [Miami] turned into not being good enough this weekend, so it shows how quickly things can change," Norris said.

"We know that, we've said it the whole year. We aren't getting complacent because we know how good they [Red Bull] can be at times when things click and when they get it right, they're ahead, and that's the way it was today."

With only seven races completed in the 24-event season, Piastri's championship grasp of the championship lead is looking shaky after he was left to lament some considerable errors and slipped from pole position to third in Imola.

Verstappen has won only two races for the season, Imola and Japan, and although McLaren holds five victories - the Dutchman is no stranger to winning a championship by himself.

Traditional F1 tracks such as Imola suit the Austrian-based outfit, with team principal Christian Horner boasting that Verstappen was the strongest competitor out on track and "had the pace for anything [McLaren] could throw at [him]."

"Max just sent it and it was kind of win it or bin it," said Horner.

"And again, he's just so good in that situation where he just sees a gap and it's so decisive for him.

"But at all times, Max had the pace.

"He was able to respond. It never felt that we were under pressure from behind."

In the driver standings, Piastri still sits ahead on 146 points but his teammate and Verstappen are only 13 and 22 points behind respectively, well within striking distance.

If Piastri was to retire out of next weekend's race and Verstappen finished first in Monaco, the championship lead would be flipped and as Formula 1 hurtles towards the second race of a triple header, any mistake could be costly.

Aptly winning on Red Bull's 400th grand prix weekend, Verstappen's charge reminded the paddock of the Dutchman's dominance in the field.

He admitted that the Red Bull had the upper hand in performance around Imola, something that lent a helping hand in catching Piastri up front.

"Once we were in the lead, the car was good. I could look after my tyres and we had very good pace today," Verstappen said.

"Of course, we brought upgrades. I think they worked.

"And I just hope that we can use that a bit more often because it definitely brought the car in a better window."

Piastri conceded post race that he believed he may have braked "too early" in his first lap battle with the Red Bull driver.

"It was a good move by Max as well," Piastri admitted.

Sky Sports commentator Anthony Davidson said that Piastri needed to be more aggressive with his interactions on track and to start shutting the door on Verstappen.

"When he looks back at that, I'm sure he'll be thinking he could have braked later, could have got my elbows out a little bit more," Davison said.

"You have to be on your absolute A-game when you've got Verstappen bearing down on you in the first couple of corners.

"You know he's going to go for it."

Although both drivers finished on the podium, McLaren's early dominance in the season means the expectation of the team is to be continuing to win races, not settling for second and third place trophies.

A series of calls during the Imola race meant that McLaren's strategy left Piastri in a precarious situation with his teammate on fresher tyres behind him.

An inevitable move late in the race saw Norris sneak past his teammate to take second place honours, with Piastri bemoaning this decision from the pit-wall and challenging his team's "wrong calls" in the race.

Jacques Villeneuve had strong words for McLaren's lack of fight, saying the team was "weak" for not allowing Norris through to fight Verstappen after the virtual safety car.

But two-time W Series champion Jamie Chadwick disagreed, saying that early in the season is no time to be implementing strict team orders.

"It's not a bad thing that they've got two great drivers fighting for a world championship, but they can't start putting in those orders so soon that one of the drivers is already going to get the hump with the other one," Chadwick said.

"It's tricky. I think there will be a clash at some point. I think we can pre-empt that already.

"If you even look at today, it already got close."

Next weekend in Monaco, the papaya team will be aiming to make sure Verstappen does not snatch pole position.

The track rewards a qualifying masterclass and with Verstappen now having a taste for the top step of the podium, McLaren and Piastri will need to make sure the tide doesn't change too quickly from underneath them.