Even Max Verstappen was surprised by the launch which allowed him to jump from third to first at the start of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.

With different amounts of rain falling around Imola before lights out, the grid itself was actually still fairly dry before the track became much wetter on the approach to Tamburello.

And with the leading cars opting to start on intermediate tyres, Verstappen was able to slide up the inside of pole-man Lewis Hamilton on the long run to the first chicane.

“The key I think was to get that good launch which was also a bit of a surprise to me after last year, where we always struggled in the wet," he said via Crash.net. 

"I think over the winter and the beginning of the year we’ve definitely made some improvements with that and today that was very good.

“I had a good launch, I was just getting speed, speed, speed but then you go to Turn 2, it’s a bit difficult to judge your braking point, you have cold tyres, it’s easy to out-brake yourself as this track with all the gravel around and stuff, it’s easy to damage your car.

“We went into Turn 2 side-by-side. It’s difficult to expect grip in the first lap. I also ended up a bit wider than I wanted and then Lewis was also there but at one point these yellow sausages were there, then I saw Lewis had to go over them.”

Verstappen and Hamilton had a brief back and forth as to whether contact was made during their Tamburello duel, with Max admitting he would have to watch it back.

But after pulling out an early advantage, the Red Bull driver did begin to struggle versus the Mercedes as the wet tyres degraded and the circuit dried out.

"To make the right calls from intermediates to slicks was not easy because I saw a few guys ahead of me with slick tyres but they were struggling a lot," Max explained.

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"Even on the intermediates, they were finished so to keep on going was difficult, a lot of sliding around and if you would go a few centimetres offline you could lose the car.

“So, not easy out there, but once we put on the slicks it was all fine." 

There was one last scare for Verstappen at the restart following the red flag though, when he did a little half-spin at Rivazza 1 but thankfully, for him, retained control and the lead.

"Of course, we had the red flag with so much debris into Turn 2, basically, the advantage was gone. Then I had my moment at the restart, it was a big one, but it was some secret tyre warming going on. After that, it was fine,” he smiled.

Perhaps the only negative was that, with Hamilton running down in ninth at one stage after his trip to the barrier mid-race, Verstappen still left Imola one point behind the world champion, who claimed the fastest lap bonus.

“It’s a long season, so we have to stay calm," he concluded.