The defending champ took his first pole of the season as Ferrari’s Leclerc and McLaren’s Norris round out the top three.
IMOLA, Italy—It took a wet circuit and five red flag periods to give Max Verstappen the pole position for the first time this season, clocking a 1:27:999 in preparation for Saturday’s sprint race Sunday’s Emilio Romagna Grand Prix. Series leader and Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc took second, while McLaren’s Lando Norris ended up third despite spinning with minutes to go at Agua Minerali.
Max Verstappen: It was tricky out there. It was very slippery. It was hectic, a long qualifying, but of course, happy to be here in the end. It is an amazing track, and it punishes you if you make a mistake. I am pleased with the pole. It will be different weather at the weekend but a good start. Our first three races, in general, didn’t go to plan, but we will try to have a good weekend here.
For Leclerc, second was disappointing because it resulted from an error in judgment. “There were quite a lot of wet patches, and it was all about putting the laps in and waiting for Q3 to put it together,” he said. “It is frustrating because I made the wrong choice when it counts in Q3.”
Kevin Magnussen finished fourth with Fernando Alonso in fifth in his Alpine. Daniel Ricciardo was sixth in the second McLaren. Seventh went to Sergio Perez in the second Red Bull. And despite taking a spin, Bottas took eighth. Sebastian Vettel placed his Aston Martin with his best qualifying finish this season in ninth.
The track had rain throughout the entire morning for Free Practice 1, which both Ferrari’s dominated. However, when the qualifying came around for the first sprint race this season, five red flag periods occurred.
The first came when Williams Alexander Albon exploded his rear left brake, throwing debris all over Tosa’s corner. The Thai-British driver will start the sprint race on the 20th and last. Sainz Jr. was the second victim of the red flags as his Ferrari went off at Ravazza. However, the Spaniard ended up 10th overall, which gives him a chance to improve for Sunday’s race. Kevin Magnussen was the luckiest driver of the group that caused this delaying period, taking his Haas off at Agua Minerali in the final session. But he was able to recover and–with minimal damage occurring–he claimed fourth overall. Valtteri Bottas went off with his Alfa Romeo at Ravazza with 2:58 to go, setting the fourth red flag just before Norris, who was the final victim, ending the qualifying with just under a minute to go.
Teammate Nicholas Latifi joined Albon in leaving the opening session. Alpine’s Esteban Ocon could not return to the track because of a gearbox issue; joining the Alpha Tauri pair of Yuki Tsunoda and Pierre Gasly. The second session was even more shocking as Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell exited along with Haas Mick Schumacher, Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Gwangju, and Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll.
The Sprint race on Saturday will set the grid for Sunday Grand Prix.
