Max Verstappen comes from behind to pip Charles Leclerc to Emilia Romagna Grand Prix sprint race

• Max Verstappen wins after losing lead at the start, overtaking Charles Leclerc

• Leclerc second, Perez third; Lewis Hamilton finishes 14th

• Christian Horner exclusive: Mercedes 'brain drain' to Red Bull led to High Court battle

• Emilia Romagna Grand Prix: What time does the race start, what TV channel is it on and what are the odds?

Max Verstappen won Saturday's Sprint race after dramatically passing Charles Leclerc on the penultimate lap.

Verstappen started from the front at Imola before losing the lead to Leclerc following a slow getaway.

But after a frenetic conclusion to the 21-lap dash, Verstappen ruined Ferrari's homecoming party by fighting his way ahead of Leclerc at the Variante Tamburello to take the chequered flag and pole position for Sunday's Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.

But there was further misery for Lewis Hamilton after he started 13th and finished only 14th. Sergio Perez took third ahead of Ferrari's Carlos Sainz, with Lando Norris fifth for McLaren.

Leclerc is now 40 points clear of second-placed Sainz in the standings, with Hamilton 51 points back.

And with the full quota of points available for Sunday's Grand Prix, Hamilton's hopes of getting back into this year's championship fight could be all-but over after just four rounds.

World champion Verstappen secured pole in Friday's rain-hit qualifying, but the Dutchman was slow away from his marks and the in-form Leclerc took advantage.

The Monegasque, chasing Ferrari's first drivers' world title in 15 years, roared past Verstappen's Red Bull before beating his man into the opening chicane - his move greeted by a chorus of cheers from those supporters dressed in red.

Further back, Hamilton's getaway was sufficient, but he was soon gobbled up by AlphaTauri's Yuki Tsunoda and then the Aston Martin of Lance Stroll.

George Russell - in the other Mercedes - also fell back a place from 11th to 12th.

On the first lap, Pierre Gasly ran into the Alfa Romeo of rookie Zhou Guanyu. The Chinese driver ended up in the wall and the safety car was deployed to retrieve his stricken machine.

The race fired up again on lap four and Leclerc mastered the re-start to leaving Verstappen in his wake.

Hamilton was attached to Stroll's Aston Martin and finally made his way past on lap nine to move up to 14th, but the British driver failed to make any further ground, crossing the line an eye-watering 41.4 seconds behind Verstappen. Russell moved ahead of Sebastian Vettel in the closing stages to take 11th.

Hamilton and his Mercedes boss Toto Wolff were involved in a heated exchange after qualifying here on Friday evening. And the tension inside the Mercedes' garage is unlikely to have eased after yet another deeply-unsatisfactory showing.

Up front Leclerc looked on course to take the victory, but Verstappen denied the Monegasque by moving into the lead at the start of lap 20 and finished 2.9 seconds ahead of the Ferrari driver.

Emilia Romagna Sprint: Classification

1. Max Verstappen, Red Bull: 30min, 30.567sec 8pts

2. Charles Leclerc, Ferrari +2.975sec 7pts

3. Sergio Perez, Red Bull +4.721sec 6pts

4. Carlos Sainz, Ferrari +17.578sec 5pts

5. Lando Norris, McLaren +24.561sec 4pts

6. Daniel Ricciardo, McLaren +27.740sec 3pts

7. Valtteri Bottas, Alfa Romeo +28.133sec 2pts

8. Kevin Magnussen, Haas +30.712s 1pt

9. Fernando Alonso, Alpine +32.278sec

10. Mick Schumacher, Haas +33.773sec

11. George Russell, Mercedes +36.284sec

12. Yuki Tsunoda, AlphaTauri +38.928sec

13. Sebastian Vettel, Aston Martin +40.177sec

14. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes +41.459sec

15. Lance Stroll, Aston Martin, +42.910sec

16. Esteban Ocon, Alpine +43.517sec

17. Pierre Gasly, AlphaTauri +43.794sec

18. Alexander Albon, Williams +48.871sec

19. Nicholas Latifi, Williams +52.017sec

DNF: Zhou Guanyu, Alfa Romeo

Emilia Romagna Sprint Race, as it happened

03:45 PM

Okay, that's it from me today

A pretty good sprint in the end. A good fight for the lead and a fair bit of action down the track too. Not much action for Mercedes, though. Their miserable season continues.

I'll be back tomorrow from around 12.45pm BST for all the build-up to the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix from Italy.

03:24 PM

Leclerc reacts to his second place

Could be worse, could be better.

03:23 PM

Sainz and Perez did well to come back there

Sainz from 10th to fourth and Perez from seventh to third. I think that shows how far ahead those two cars are. Worries for Mercedes, though. In total they lost one place on their starting positions.

Mick Schumacher will start in 10th tomorrow. The Haas cars tried slightly different strategies which sort of worked. Magnussen was a little out of position on a dry track, though.

03:18 PM

Updated constructor standings

Red Bull now into second ahead of Mercedes. 14 points for the Bulls and none for Mercedes will do that. Magnussen started fourth and dropped back a bit but Haas will be thankful that a single point is a disappointment these days.

03:15 PM

Updated driver standings - Top 12

A bit of a reshuffle at the top, with Sainz moving into second, meaning Leclerc actually extends his championship lead.

03:14 PM

So, they have a sort of podium ceremony now

On a podium that looks 'socially distanced'. It's not for Covid reasons, I am sure, but it is quite spaced out. They all get a medal, too. Not sure if that's an improvement from last year but it's pretty irrelevant in the grand scheme.

03:09 PM

Verstappen speaks after his sprint race victory

My start was not very good. It took a while to put the pressure on. I think we were a bit better on our tyres towards the end of the race. We had a good fight into turn two.

03:08 PM

Emilia Romagna Sprint Race: Classification

1. VER 8pts
2. LEC 7pts
3. PER 6pts
4. SAI 5pts
5. NOR 4pts
6. RIC 3pts
7. BOT 2pts
8. MAG 1pt
9. ALO
10. MSC
11. RUS
12. TSU
13. VET
14. HAM
15. STR
16. OCO
17. GAS
18. ALB
19. LAT

DNF: ZHO

03:06 PM

MAX VERSTAPPEN TAKES THE SPRINT RACE VICTORY

Eight points, but more importantly, he will line up on pole position for tomorrow's race. Leclerc second, Perez third, which is a good effort from seventh. Sainz fourth. So it will be Red Bull, Ferrari, Red Bull, Ferrari tomorrow. Nice. Then two McLarens.

03:05 PM

FINAL LAP

Verstappen was patient, bided his time but the pace was there in the Red Bull, even if the start was not. Not much in it, though.

03:04 PM

Lap 20 of 21 - Verstappen takes the lead around the outside of Tamburello!

He was closer that time! DRS helps and allows him to get much closer and be later on the brakes around the outside. Leclerc defends but Verstappen gives him enough room. Verstappen is already out of DRS range.

Hamilton doesn't have the pace to overtake Vettel's Aston Martin. Russell into 11th.

03:02 PM

Lap 19 of 21 - Verstappen tells his engineer to leave him to it

He's much closer into Rivazza this time. I think he's going to get him... another squirmy moment on the exit...

03:02 PM

Lap 18 of 21 - Sainz is going to get Norris

He's taking a second - if not more - out of him per lap.

Verstappen will be closer this time, I am sure. He gets a bit of a wobble on in Rivazza 2. That costs him a little but. He still gets DRS... but Leclerc drives a wide car into the first chicane.

Leclerc looks to be struggling with his tyres now. And that normally does not end well. But there's only three laps left. Sainz is past Norris and Bottas past Magnussen. Hamilton still 14th.

03:00 PM

Lap 17 of 21 - Is this race over?

Doesn't look like it. Verstappen now within six tenths of Leclerc, DRS allowing him to close up. He's likely going to be much closer this lap than he was last lap. Let's see...

Sainz has superb pace and is within 2.5s of Norris ahead.

Verstappen gets DRS and is only marginally closer than he was last lap, thankfully for Ferrari. But is it enough for Leclerc? Yes. Just. Three more times they will get to do that.

02:58 PM

Lap 16 of 21 - Bottas late on the brakes into the first chicane and into eighth!

Nice move. Not the best day for Alonso so far.

Verstappen now within DRS range and he will get DRS. The Red Bull is mighty on the long pit straight.

02:57 PM

Lap 15 of 21 - Leclerc leads Verstappen by 1.3s

A DRS train behind Vettel in 11th now. Mick Schumacher has gone past him and into 10th. Russell, Tsunoda, Hamilton all have DRS.

02:56 PM

Lap 14 of 21 Top 10

1. LEC
2. VER
3. PER
4. NOR
5. SAI
6. RIC
7. MAG
8. ALO
9. BOT
10. VET

02:55 PM

Lap 13 of 21 - Leclerc leads Verstappen by 1.6s with Perez 6.2s behind his team-mate

Schumacher on the back of Vettel.

Can Sainz get Ricciardo on the main straight? Yes he can. Into fifth now. Sainz making good progress here. Can he get Norris? He has 5.6s to make up.

02:53 PM

Lap 12 of 21 - Ricciardo is flying

But the gap to Norris in fourth is probably a bit much with just 10 laps remaining.

02:52 PM

Lap 11 of 21 - The mediums have not worked out for Magnussen

Leclerc has stretched his lead a little with the fastest lap of the race. 1.45s now his lead. Sainz sets after Magnussen and with the aid of DRS. He goes around the outside and is into sixth. Hamilton is still in 14th. Russell 12th.

02:51 PM

Lap 10 of 21 - Perez close to Norris now

Not the easiest track to overtake here but with DRS it should be easy-ish. Maybe not as easy as Magnussen.

He's ahead now...

Now Ricciardo gets Magnussen for fifth... he now has Sainz on his gearbox.

02:49 PM

Lap 9 of 21 - Top 10

1. LEC
2. VER
3. NOR
4. PER
5. MAG
6. RIC
7. SAI
8. ALO
9. BOT
10. VET

Bottas into ninth with a move on Vettel in the usual place. Mick Schumacher is closing up on Vettel for 10th.

Verstappen nearly within DRS range of leader Leclerc.

02:47 PM

Lap 8 of 21 - Perez takes Magnussen for fourth with DRS on the main straight