Verstappen on pole in qualifying thriller

The order for the first run in the final was Hülkenberg, Verstappen, Norris, Tsunoda, Piastri, Sainz, Leclerc, Russell and Hamilton. Only Ricciardo decided not to make a first attempt. The world champion confirmed his strong form from Q2 with 1:14.869 minutes, but the competition remained on his heels. Norris came within 0.073 seconds, followed by Leclerc, Piastri, Sainz, Russell, Tsunoda, Hamilton and Hülkenberg.

Hülkenberg also led the field in the showdown. Behind the Haas driver were Ricciardo, Sainz, Leclerc, Tsunoda, Russell, Hamilton, Verstappen, Norris and Piastri. The Ferrari drivers ran out of steam early on the last run. Despite an absolute best time in the middle sector, Leclerc only came within a tenth of a second of Verstappen’s best. Meanwhile, the defending champion pulled out the hammer and improved his time.

At 1.14.746 minutes, the Dutchman was also a blink of an eye too fast for the McLaren duo. Piastri and Norris came within a tenth of a second of Verstappen, but had to settle for second and third place. Behind them, Leclerc, Sainz, Russell, Tsunoda, Hamilton, Ricciardo and Hülkenberg completed the top 10. A few hours after qualifying, Piastri lost his second place on the grid. The Australian was given a three-place penalty for blocking Magnussen in Q1.

Q1 in Imola: Alonso fails miserably

That was Q1: Different strategies created excitement in the 18-minute Q1. Russell, Sainz and Leclerc set their first lap time on the medium tire. The rest of the field was on the soft compound, which was good for more than one flying lap for most drivers. Piastri won the first exchange of blows with 1:15.940 minutes. Behind them were Verstappen, Sainz, Gasly, Leclerc, Russell, Norris, Tsunoda, Perez, and Stroll.

The Williams drivers were at the bottom of the rankings without a valid time. Albon went wide in the last corner and drove the right side of the car through the gravel. Sargeant lost his tail in the Villeneuve chicane and had to go through the gravel. Alonso also ruined his second attempt with a slide into turn two. He hit the curb on the exit, the car touched down and he drove straight into the gravel trap in turn three. Qualifying continued for all three drivers.

Before the final phase, Alonso, Hülkenberg, Zhou, Albon and Sargeant were in the knockout ranks. Albon improved to twelfth place, but the Thai wasn’t the only one who had an answer ready. Hülkenberg briefly took the lead and was then only narrowly edged out by Verstappen and Leclerc. Alonso ended up staying in the garage and was eliminated second to last. Only Sargeant, who was deprived of his last lap due to track limits, saved him from the red lantern. Meanwhile, Magnussen complained about Piastri, who stood in his way on his last attempt at the Tamburello. The scene ended up with race management for investigation.

Q2 in Imola: Verstappen with announcement, Perez with knockout

That was Q2: In the second part, Verstappen set the fastest lap of the weekend to date with a time of 1:15.386 minutes. He set the bar for the competition, which team-mate Perez missed by half a second. Leclerc, on the other hand, beat him by half a tenth of a second, and Tsunoda was also sensationally faster than the world champion.

After the first run the order was Leclerc, Tsunoda, Verstappen, Piastri, Norris, Sainz, Perez, Ricciardo, Hülkenberg, Hamilton. Except for Tsunoda and Albon, all pilots attacked again in the last few minutes. At the front, Verstappen stepped up and regained the fastest time. It wasn’t enough for Perez. The Mexican was eliminated in eleventh place, in complete contrast to Hülkenberg. The Haas driver made it into Q3 for the fourth time this season in seventh place.

The weather: The Italian spring also greeted Formula 1 with bright sunshine during qualifying. The conditions were optimal with clear skies and temperatures around 24 degrees Celsius. Only in the last corner did a slight tailwind cause the drivers some difficulties.