Max Verstappen returned to top spot in F1 Imola GP with a pole in qualifying ahead of McLaren pair of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris.
Q1:
In a different strategy to start the first part of F1 Imola GP, Mercedes’ George Russell and the Ferrari pair used the medium tyres. While the Brit changed his tyres quickly, the latter two did couple of tours before electing to pit after slotting in a good position.
Williams pair of Alexander Albon and Logan Sargeant did not start well after getting their laps deleted due to off-moments. The American had a second moment which cost, while Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso too lost out after kerb ride and into the gravel.
The team did well to prep the car after his FP3 shunt, but Alonso did not feel comfortable. The result showed as he was 20th in the end after his initial 1m16.917s lap. It was Red Bull’s Max Verstappen on top with a 1m15.762s after a late run.
He dropped Haas’ Nico Hulkenberg to second after his late lap as Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc dropped him to third after his late fast lap as both the Ferrari cars made it inside the Q2 on the medium tyres. The dropzone saw both the Stake F1 Team cars getting knocked out.
It was Valtteri Bottas (1m16.626s) in 16th, missing Q2 by 0.022s, as he lead teammate Zhou Guanyu (1m16.834s), Haas’ Kevin Magnussen (1m16.854s), Alonso and Sargeant. In fact, the American was 17th but track limits left him with no lap in the end. Replays also showed McLaren’s Oscar Piastri impeding Magnussen on the Dane’s quick lap.
Q2:
The second part in F1 Imola GP saw a tight situation at the top of the field to start with. It was Verstappen on top in the end with a 1m15.178s lap ahead of Leclerc, with Visa Cash App RB’s Yuki Tsunoda doing a solid job in third.
His teammate Daniel Ricciardo made it in Q3 as well after pipping Red Bull’s Sergio Perez by 0.015s which left the Mexican getting knocked out in Q2 with a 1m15.706s lap. He went out late in the session which cost him eventually after a low-key first sector.
Alpine’s Esteban Ocon (1m15.906s) was 12th from Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll (1m5.992s), with Williams’ Alexander Albon (1m16.200s) in 14th and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly (1m16.381s) rounding out the 15 runners.
Q3:
The first run in the final part of F1 Imola GP saw Verstappen come out quick of the blocks with a 1m14.869s lap to be quicker by 0.073s than McLaren’s Lando Norris (1m14.942s) as Leclerc slotted in third after his 1m15.016s lap.
The Top 5 had Piastri and Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, with Mercedes’ George Russell in sixth. The second run saw further improvement from Verstappen with a 1m14.746s lap to secure F1 pole in Imola GP especially after a difficult Friday he had.
It was a close fight as a late push from Piastri (1m14.820s) put him on the front row, only 0.074s behind with Norris (1m14.837s) not far behind as he finished 0.091s behind Verstappen. The Australian is under investigation for impeding, though.
The improvements from McLaren saw Ferrari drop to fourth and fifth, with Leclerc (1m14.970s) ahead of Sainz (1m15.233s) after they failed to show huge improvement. Russell (1m15.234s) stuck himself to sixth from Tsunoda (1m15.465s).
He managed to get Hamilton (1m15.504s), who was only eighth. The other Visa Cash App RB of Ricciardo (1m15.674s) was ninth with Haas’ Nico Hulkenberg (1m15.980s) rounding out the Top 10.
UPDATE: As expected, Piastri has lost his front row start for F1 Imola GP after he was found to have unnecessarily impeded Magnussen in Q1. The stewards took into account of the situation but noted that the team did not warn the driver of an approaching fast car.
As a result, Piastri will drop three places to be fifth which gives Norris a front row start with Leclerc and Sainz also gaining a place each. Here: https://www.fia.com/sites/default/files/decision-document/2024%20Emilia%20Romagna%20Grand%20Prix%20-%20Infringement%20-%20Car%2081%20-%20Impeding%20of%20Car%2020.pdf
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