Albon's fifth-place finish at Imola, battling Ferrari on merit, solidifies Williams' position as a dominant midfield team

Two weeks after receiving a drubbing in Miami, Red Bull bounced back by defeating McLaren on merit at the F1 Imola GP. What happened?

After failing to finish 20 of 24 F1 races last year, yesterday's performance by Williams and Alex Albon represented a massive step forward.

Williams Formula 1 driver Carlos Sainz has shared his disappointment following the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. After starting the race in sixth position, he crossed the line in eighth. His teammate Alex Albon started from seventh and went on to secure a fifth-place finish, narrowly missing out on fourth place.

Getting past someone is notoriously hard at Imola. In a 2005 classic, Fernando Alonso held off Michael Schumacher's much faster car for the entire race. Even though the cars are larger and heavier now and more closely matched, overtaking was still possible, like Norris' pass on Russell.

McLaren's dominance was toppled by Max Verstappen at the Imola Grand Prix, as Lewis Hamilton launched a stellar comeback having before suffered a disappointing weekend in Italy. ➡️ READ MORE FIA confirms F1 star hit by 20-place grid penalty infringement Red Bull Formula 1 star Yuki Tsunoda was handed a 20-place penalty verdict from the FIA,

Alpine Formula 1 driver Franco Colapinto has been hit with a grid penalty following qualifying for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, which he crashed out of.

Ahead of the Imola Grand Prix, the FIA issued several new technical directives regulating the Formula 1 field.