Max Verstappen said he was "incredibly proud" of Red Bull's improvements at the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix after he stormed to victory in Sunday's race. 

Verstappen clinched his second win of the season with relative ease in Imola, though a late safety car allowed McLaren duo Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris to close in. 

However, a consummate restart from the Dutchman allowed him to break clear of the chasing pack, earning Red Bull a win in their 400th Formula One race. 

Verstappen's victory was built on a superb overtake on polesitter Piastri on the first lap, producing an audacious move around the outside to take the lead from the Australian.

And from then on, the 27-year-old was able to control the pace of the race. 

Indeed, it was the 15th time that Verstappen had led a race from start to finish. Only Ayrton Senna (19) and Lewis Hamilton (23) have done so on more occasions. 

It was also the first time he had led from start to finish in a grand prix since Qatar in 2024, with Verstappen able to storm to the 65th win of his career. 

Our second WIN of the season #F1 || #ImolaGP pic.twitter.com/YFc5y95ZOe

— Oracle Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing) May 18, 2025

As a result, Verstappen was able to close the gap to championship leader Piastri to 22 points, and he thanked Red Bull for what he described as an "important week" for the team.

"The start itself wasn't particularly great, but I was still on the normal line and I thought I would try and send it round the outside, and it worked really well," Verstappen said. 

"That then unleashed our pace because once we were in the lead, the car was good, and I could look after my tyres. We had very good pace today.

"It's a massive improvement from Friday, and I'm very pleased with that. That virtual safety car was quite handy to pit.

"Even on the hard compound, our pace was strong, but then there was a safety car, so the field was back together. Even on the restart, we managed it well and brought it home.

"I'm incredibly proud of everyone, it's been a very important week for us and the car has performed really well, and also I think the execution of the whole race was very good."

Verstappen also ended with the fastest lap, his first of 2025, achieving at least one in each of his last 10 years in F1. 

Only Michael Schumacher, Hamilton (15 each), Alain Prost and Sebastian Vettel (11 each) had done that before. It was also the 100th fastest lap for Red Bull.

It was the 32nd time he had won without starting from pole position, though he will want to avoid starting lower than first at next week's Monaco Grand Prix. 

The street circuit is notoriously one of the most difficult to overtake at, and Verstappen acknowledged the challenges he may face ahead of the infamous race. 

"I like driving and racing in Formula 1," Verstappen said.

"Next week it's a completely different kind of track in Monaco and that’s also going to be very challenging, but for the moment I just want to enjoy today and take it in."