The grid is ready, and now we can commence the countdown to the start of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
Here’s the full rundown of the F1 starting grid for the 2024 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at the historic Imola circuit.
Despite a challenging beginning to his weekend, Max Verstappen managed to secure pole position with a remarkable fastest lap time of 1:14.746, leaving Oscar Piastri’s McLaren behind by a mere 0.074 seconds.
F1 starting grid: 2024 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Imola
Piastri, unfortunately, received a three-place penalty post-session for obstructing Kevin Magnussen’s Haas during Q1. As a result, he was demoted to fifth place, allowing Lando Norris, the recent victor in Miami, to move up to P2 ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz.
Finishing ahead of Yuki Tsunoda, who had an outstanding qualifying session to secure P7, George Russell will commence the race in sixth place.
Starting ahead of eighth-placed Lewis Hamilton, Tsunoda will be joined by Daniel Ricciardo and Nico Hulkenberg in the top 10.
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Sergio Perez, who had triggered a red-flag stoppage in FP3, faced a disappointing exit in Q2 as he narrowly missed out on Daniel Ricciardo’s RB by just 0.015 seconds.
Perez’s season took a drastic turn for the worse around this time last year, following a promising beginning. In F1 2024, he will undoubtedly be eager to avoid a similar fate.
In the meantime, Alpine continued their impressive comeback from a disastrous beginning to the latest season. Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly showcased their skills by making it to Q2, with Ocon finishing 12th and Gasly securing the 14th spot in the session.
The Aston Martin driver had a torrid Saturday, with Fernando Alonso being the unexpected casualty in Q1, thereby concluding his disappointing day.
After crashing at the second Rivazza corner during final practice on Saturday morning, Alonso caused the red flags to be brought out. This left his mechanics with a challenging task of fixing his car in time for qualifying.
After successfully leaving the garage, the esteemed two-time World Champion encountered yet another setback. This time, a misstep on the exit of Tamburello chicane led Alonso to traverse through the gravel, ultimately relegating him to the final position on the starting grid. Due to Aston Martin’s modifications to his car, violating the parc ferme regulations, Alonso will commence the race from the pit lane.
2024 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix grid
1. Max Verstappen, Red Bull
2. Lando Norris, McLaren
3. Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
4. Carlos Sainz, Ferrari
5. Oscar Piastri, McLaren
6. George Russell, Mercedes
7. Yuki Tsunoda, RB
8. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
9. Daniel Ricciardo, RB
10. Nico Hulkenberg, Haas
11. Sergio Perez, Red Bull
12. Esteban Ocon, Alpine
13. Lance Stroll, Aston Martin
14. Alex Albon, Williams
15. Pierre Gasly, Alpine
16. Valtteri Bottas, Sauber
17. Zhou Guanyu, Sauber
18. Kevin Magnussen, Haas
19. Logan Sargeant, Williams
20. Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin [pit lane]
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