Imola has been the host of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix since 2020, yet the race boasts a notable past as the San Marino Grand Prix.
Max Verstappen is on pole for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, though was kept honest by the charging McLarens.
Verstappen’s impressive time of 1:14.746 secured his position, but McLaren’s Oscar Piastri missed out by just 0.074s, narrowly missing a spot on the front row alongside Verstappen. Lando Norris, Piastri’s teammate at McLaren, also came close within a tenth of Verstappen’s time. This performance has given McLaren a chance to compete for victory on Sunday.
McLaren to lead the charge versus Max Verstappen
Up until this point in the race weekend, there had been no indication of a Red Bull team making it to the top three. However, McLaren stepped up and replaced Ferrari as the frontrunners in the last hour of practice, creating excitement for an intense battle for pole position. Well, at least that’s what we anticipated.
To secure their qualifying run, drivers had to steer clear of the bottom five positions in Q1. However, Zhou Guanyu and Valtteri Bottas from Sauber, Logan Sargeant from Williams, Kevin Magnussen from Haas, and Fernando Alonso from Aston Martin found themselves in P20, the last spot, signaling the end of their day. Max Verstappen of Red Bull dominated Q1 with his impressive pace.
Moving on to Q2 and the fight to secure a spot in the top-10 shootout, Verstappen continued his dominance by once again leading the session. However, it was bad news for Sergio Perez in the second Red Bull car as he finished in P11 and failed to advance. The Alpines of Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly, along with Lance Stroll from Aston Martin and Alex Albon from Williams, also suffered the same fate and were eliminated from further qualifying.
Verstappen secured a perfect record in qualifying by topping Q3 to claim pole position for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. However, McLaren’s Piastri and Norris were in close proximity, with both drivers less than a tenth of a second behind.
Q3 timings
1 Max VERSTAPPEN Red Bull Racing 1:14.746
2 Oscar PIASTRI McLaren +0.074
3 Lando NORRIS McLaren +0.091
4 Charles LECLERC Ferrari +0.224
5 Carlos SAINZ Ferrari +0.487
6 George RUSSELL Mercedes +0.488
7 Yuki TSUNODA RB +0.719
8 Lewis HAMILTON Mercedes +0.758
9 Daniel RICCIARDO RB +0.928
10 Nico HULKENBERG Haas F1 Team +1.234
Q2 timings
1 Max VERSTAPPEN Red Bull Racing 1:15.176
2 Charles LECLERC Ferrari +0.152
3 Yuki TSUNODA RB +0.182
4 Lando NORRIS McLaren +0.195
5 Oscar PIASTRI McLaren +0.231
6 Carlos SAINZ Ferrari +0.336
7 Nico HULKENBERG Haas F1 Team +0.393
8 George RUSSELL Mercedes +0.495
9 Lewis HAMILTON Mercedes +0.501
10 Daniel RICCIARDO RB +0.515
11 Sergio PEREZ Red Bull Racing +0.530
12 Esteban OCON Alpine +0.730
13 Lance STROLL Aston Martin +0.816
14 Alexander ALBON Williams +1.024
15 Pierre GASLY Alpine +1.205
Q1 timings
1 Max VERSTAPPEN Red Bull Racing 1:15.762
2 Charles LECLERC Ferrari +0.061
3 Nico HULKENBERG Haas F1 Team +0.079
4 Yuki TSUNODA RB +0.132
5 Lando NORRIS McLaren +0.153
6 Oscar PIASTRI McLaren +0.178
7 Carlos SAINZ Ferrari +0.253
8 Pierre GASLY Alpine +0.253
9 Daniel RICCIARDO RB +0.298
10 George RUSSELL Mercedes +0.345
11 Esteban OCON Alpine +0.599
12 Sergio PEREZ Red Bull Racing +0.642
13 Lance STROLL Aston Martin +0.696
14 Alexander ALBON Williams +0.762
15 Lewis HAMILTON Mercedes +0.842
16 Valtteri BOTTAS Kick Sauber +0.864
17 Logan SARGEANT Williams +0.969
18 Guanyu ZHOU Kick Sauber +1.072
19 Kevin MAGNUSSEN Haas F1 Team +1.092
20 Fernando ALONSO Aston Martin +1.155
More to follow…
