00:00It's lights out and away we go for the sprint and Charles Leclerc gets a very good start indeed.
00:07Verstappen's been caught napping maybe, Perez making ground early on Leclerc takes the lead of the sprint.
00:12It's Leclerc with Magnussen almost on the grass, Verstappen second, in comes Norris.
00:16K-Mag going wheel to wheel with Daniel Ricciardo and onto the kerb.
00:19Carlos Sainz is trying to make up places, looks like Perez has gone past Daniel Ricciardo as they file through Tamburello and onto the Villeneuve chicane.
00:27Kevin Magnussen having a great old scrap there with Sergio Perez and Lewis Hamilton getting bogged down a little bit.
00:33And his teammate George Russell too, not making gains where they would want.
00:37Yeah, the initial getaway from Max, it just did not happen.
00:40And then you could see, it almost looked like he lost the sink ship because you could see his head moving.
00:44But crucially, he stayed in second place. But listen to the crowd as Leclerc took the lead.
00:48And already a yellow flag as someone's gone off the track and I think it's Joe Guanyu in the Alfa Romeo.
00:54And there is Joe Guanyu. Looks like his sprint is over by the end of the first lap.
01:00On the way to Inter Piratello we go. And there's Joe Guanyu on the outside, Gasly on the inside.
01:05And I did think this track was narrow and that rather proved it.
01:08Yeah, two came together. I'm not really sure where Zoo thought Gasly could go.
01:12And with the safety car in and the green flags flying, we get racing once again.
01:16This is lap five of 21 for the sprint here in Imola this afternoon.
01:20And Max Verstappen a long way back by the time they put on the brakes into Tamburello.
01:24Magnussen looks a little bit closer to Lando Norris who's in third.
01:27Then comes Sergio Perez, Daniel Ricciardo getting all out of shape there.
01:30Fernando Alonso and that should let Carlos Sainz through in the other Ferrari.
01:34But Sainz picking up the slipstream and then trying to make his way round.
01:38Villeneuve can't quite force his way past.
01:41Sainz's got to love the run on the Alpine. The Ferrari's looking beautiful behind it.
01:45And had he had DRS I think he'd be going forward.
01:48But of course he would because he's in that Ferrari.
01:50And is he going to go the long way around?
01:51L'Alonso's not going to make it easy.
01:52But a fellow Spaniard and I don't think he'd put up too much of a fight.
01:57There goes the DRS. One DRS zone here in Imola.
02:00And you can see the closing speed that Sergio Perez has got.
02:03It's a mighty closing speed for Sergio Perez long before they get to the chicane.
02:08Sergio Perez is ahead of Kevin Magnussen and up into fourth.
02:13To the DRS zone we go. We're following Kevin Magnussen.
02:16Following him, Ricciardo. Following him is Sainz.
02:19And ahead of those, Sergio Perez looks like he's got ahead of Lando Norris.
02:23And he has. Towards the chicane we go.
02:25Is Ricciardo going to go down the inside on Kevin Magnussen? He is.
02:29Beautiful move by Daniel Ricciardo. Puts his McLaren up into fifth.
02:33Huge differences for Red Bull. If both Red Bulls can finish second and third.
02:37Of course what that does is a bit of protection tomorrow at the start to fight the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc.
02:42And of course the slipstream is so crucial.
02:44Heading down into the first braking zone after the start.
02:46Dark Cloud still hovering over the track.
02:50But the Tafosi roaring on and giving heat to Carlos Sainz.
02:53As he sets now after Kevin Magnussen who hasn't got DRS.
02:57Ricciardo's too far away. There goes Sainz.
03:00Bouncing away but he can put up with a porpoising.
03:02As sixth place is his by the time they get to the Tamburello chicane.
03:06He's got DRS you can see. There you go.
03:08And he's getting closer. He's getting closer. Ricciardo moves over to the right hand side.
03:13But really that was not a fight. Daniel Ricciardo was equipped to fully fight.
03:19Valtteri Bottas now on Fernando Alonso.
03:21He's been given a black and white flag for weaving on the straight.
03:24He can't weave now because if he did he'd weave straight into Valtteri Bottas.
03:27And they're going wheel to wheel down the straight here.
03:29Valtteri Bottas on the inside. Later on the brakes.
03:32Fernando Alonso has to concede the points.
03:35And Valtteri Bottas in the Alfa Romeo moves up into eighth place.
03:39Three laps to go then as Leclerc sets off down that main straight.
03:44We're on board with Max Verstappen.
03:46Has he got enough distance to try and close in? No.
03:50Just runs out of straight at the end.
03:53Proper course now Croft.
03:55Is he going to get a nice run out of Revazza?
03:57It's there or thereabouts.
03:58He wants to be left alone to do what he can do best.
04:01And what he can do very well is produce some overtakes from a long way back.
04:04Look at the bouncing on the Ferrari.
04:06The red bull's coming at him.
04:08Verstappen goes around the outside.
04:09Into the chicane.
04:10Stays on the track.
04:12Max Verstappen takes the lead at the sprint here in Imola.
04:15And we've had passes for the lead in a sprint for the first time.
04:19The first sprint of 2022.
04:21And I hope they're all like this.
04:23This is epic.
04:24Brilliant car control.
04:25And he didn't turn in, did he?
04:26He left enough space just to let him go.
04:28But beautifully judged at the second part of that as well.
04:31Max Verstappen lost out at the start here.
04:34Has made amends by the time he gets to the chequered flag.
04:36What a tussle with Charles Leclerc.
04:38The sprinters flash by and it's ended with victory for Max Verstappen here in Imola.
04:43And the championship leader Charles Leclerc comes home in second.
04:47Sergio Perez completes the podium places and takes third for Red Bull.
04:52Now going to second in the Constructors' Championship.
04:56I'd rather get the feeling the drivers like these sprints
04:59and like to be involved in such a short burst of fevered activity.
