Max Verstappen claimed to a comfortable victory in a dramatic wet/dry Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Imola.

The Dutchman took the lead at the start in difficult conditions and was helped by a mistake from Lewis Hamilton and a mid-race red flag, as he crossed the line 22 seconds ahead of the Mercedes.

P2 and the fastest lap would be perfect damage control by the world champion though, who fell to P9 at one stage after an off following the switch from intermediates to slicks.

Finally, it was a second career podium for Lando Norris for McLaren, as the Briton capitalised on a dramatic few laps to claim third.

Race Review

Heavy rain left half the track very wet and the other half almost dry before the start, with most drivers opting for the intermediate tyres.

The wettest part was the first few corners and at the start it was Verstappen who got the best launch to pass Hamilton into Tamburello, forcing the Mercedes across the kerbs in the process.

Leclerc moved up to third ahead of Perez, while further back, Nikita Mazepin and Nicholas Latifi collided exiting Acque Minerali, with the Williams being spun into the wall.

The Safety Car was called to clear the stricken car, with Mick Schumacher repeating George Russell's mistake from last year by sliding into the wall trying to warm his tyres on the main straight.

At the restart, Verstappen held off Hamilton into Tamburello before pulling out a three-second lead on the Mercedes in just one lap.

Instead, it was Leclerc challenging for second but unable to find a way through.

With the order stable at the front, all the action was in the midfield as Pierre Gasly, one driver to start on full wets, began to slide down the field.

Perez's race would be compromised by a 10-second stop/go penalty for overtaking two cars behind the Safety Car after running off at Piratella.

Conditions began to quickly improve as the patchy rain moved away, but the wettest sections at the start made the timing of switching to slicks very difficult.

Sebastian Vettel, who began from the pit-lane after brake issues on his lap to the grid, was the first to move onto the dry tyres in the Aston Martin.

But with lap times slow to improve on the slicks, Hamilton repeated his trick from Istanbul by running the intermediates until they were slicks to catch Verstappen in the lead.

That led Red Bull to pit Max for slicks but a slower stop for Lewis a lap later allowed the Dutchman to resume in the lead.

Emerging in heavy traffic, the race turned when Hamilton tried to lap George Russell into Tosa but lost grip on the wet inside of the track and slid into the barrier.

The world champion was able to reverse out but a damaged front wing required him to pit, dropping him down to ninth.

Russell then eliminated the other Mercedes moments later as he aquaplaned into Valtteri Bottas at full speed on the main straight attempting an overtake, sending both cars into the barriers at Tamburello.

With so much debris, a red flag was called with Verstappen leading Leclerc and Lando Norris up to third.

A rolling restart was chosen due to the track conditions, with Norris charging past Leclerc into second on the run to Tamburello.

Behind, Yuki Tsunoda spun in front of Hamilton at the chicane, promoting the Mercedes up to eighth as the recovery from his off began.

A spin for Perez and perfect overtakes on Stroll and Ricciardo saw the Briton quickly move up to fifth, before he dispatched both Ferraris and finally Norris in the closing lap to take second.

There was no stopping Verstappen though, as he stormed to the chequered flag to claim his first win of the season.

But with the extra point for fastest lap, somehow, Hamilton leaves Imola still as championship leader by one point heading to Portugal.

Leclerc led Sainz home in fourth and fifth as a first podium since Silverstone last year remains elusive.

Ricciardo held off Stroll in sixth and seventh with Pierre Gasly eighth after a solid recovery from losing places on the wrong tyres early on.

Kimi Raikkonen scored his first points of the season in ninth, likewise Esteban Ocon who rounded out the top 10.

A thrilling race and potentially a key one as Hamilton limited the losses in the championship having been on course to be 15 points behind Verstappen at one point.

Full results from the race can be seen below:

And if this is to be Imola's last race again for a while after stepping up during the Covid-19 pandemic all we can say is Grazie Mille and that was quite the way to go out!