The Emilia Romagna Grand Prix won’t be remembered for the wheel-to-wheel action on track but still had a thrilling conclusion.
Max Verstappen returned to winning ways after finishing as runner-up in Miami with one of the best performances for Red Bull in recent years.
Speaking on the Formula For Success Podcast, former F1 team owner Eddie Jordan was very impressed with another driver on the grid.
Although Verstappen doesn’t look like he’s going to be dragged into a fight for the world championship, he’s unlikely to have it all his own way like he did last year.
The key reason for that is McLaren and Lando Norris stunned Eddie Jordan with his brilliant fightback at Imola.
The £305,000-a-week driver started on the front row of the grid alongside the triple world champion but couldn’t quite get the jump on him when the lights went out.
It appeared as though the race was done and dusted until the final 10 laps when all of a sudden, the one-time race winner sensed an opportunity.
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Eddie Jordan was blown away by Lando Norris after the Imola Grand Prix
Max Verstappen was pushing his RB20 to its limits and was one track limit warning away from a time penalty.
After seeing off the challenge from Charles Leclerc, Norris was able to make progress going forward after keeping his tyres in the correct performance window when the Dutchman in front of him couldn’t.
He was taking huge chunks of time out of Verstappen in the final phase of the race and had David Coulthard on the edge of his seat with how hard he was pushing the car.
Eddie Jordan loved what he saw from Norris and although he couldn’t achieve back-to-back victories in Imola, the signs for the rest of the season are incredibly positive for McLaren.
Norris earning the 17 podium finish of his career is a boost for Andrea Stella’s team.
However, they might be even more encouraged by what his teammate Oscar Piastri did in his newly upgraded car.
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Reflecting on Sunday’s Grand Prix, Jordan said: “I must say I enjoyed the race. I loved what Lando [Norris] did at the end, I thought that was magic. Fair play to Max [Verstappen].”
Coulthard chipped in and said: “Lando did a great job at the weekend!”
Jordan continued: “Honestly, he’s a special young kid. He’s full of life and he’s never down and you hear him in the interviews and he’s very gracious.
“The car was amazing, he was amazing and so was [Oscar] Piastri.
“I think McLaren have got their mojo well and truly back and I don’t remember them being this strong for a very, very long time.
“The people who have helped to put this together and I’m including the Crown Prince [of Bahrain] himself because it was a big task to take that on.”
Norris has earned plenty of plaudits for his performance at Imola and Jordan’s praise is well deserved.
At the start of the race weekend, Karun Chandhok suggested that Norris is overshadowing Piastri this season.
However, the Australian was quicker over one lap in qualifying and speaking on the F1 Nation Podcast, journalist Tom Clarkson shared that his side of the McLaren believed he could have won the race if he didn’t get a three-place grid penalty.
Qualifying is going to play a key role at the next race in Monaco where overtaking is even more difficult.
Verstappen produced one of the greatest performances of his career in the principality last year and will need to replicate that lap to stay at the front of the grid ahead of two incredibly quick McLarens.
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