#EmiliaRomagnaGP Qualifying: @Max33Verstappen takes pole for #F1Sprint. #F1

Verstappen Emilia Romagna GP pole – Red Bull’s Max Verstappen claimed pole position for tomorrow’s F1 Sprint in a red-flag disrupted qualifying at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari.

 

 

On-and-off rain and cooler temperatures lead to a crash-filled session that was finally aborted with 40 seconds left on the clock after McLaren’s Lando Norris hit the wall in the third qualifying stage.

 

This prevented a one-lap shootout to decide the pole for Saturday’s F1 Sprint, which left Verstappen on top and ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, Norris and Haas F1 Team’s Kevin Magnussen.

 

On his second flyer on the intermediates in Q3, despite a yellow-flag for the halted Alfa of Valtteri Bottas, the Dutchman set a 1:27.999 to move 0.779 seconds in-front of Leclerc.

 

The reigning world champion was rapid to confirm he lifted off the throttle and his effort remained on the time-sheet despite the yellow flag, which became a red.

 

This looked to be the crucial point when the session went green, only for Norris to crash in what appeared to be a three-minute run to decide pole.

 

Before anyone posted a time in Q3, Magnussen had brought out a brief red flag after a transitional wet-dry track caught out the Dane in the more challenging second part of the tour.

 

The Haas driver lost the rear of his VF-22 racer at the second entry of Acque Minerali and spun across the gravel trap, but kept spinning the rears to eventually rejoin, but not before the session was stopped.

 

Alonso was already at the end of the pit-lane when Q3 went green after a five-minute delay, the Spaniard then fighting the A522 and slipping off the track at Acque Minerali.

 

Both Red Bull RB18 entries of Sergio Perez and Verstappen abandoned the second apex at the Tamburello Chicane, the pairing both locking up their front-lefts to run over the gravel as Leclerc posted the initial benchmark with a 1:28.788.

 

Verstappen soon crossed the line a narrow 0.02 off as he comfortably kept Norris’s McLaren at bay before setting a 1:27.999 to grab provisional pole.

 

The Dutchman quickly confirmed to his team that he backed off and changed down a gear through the yellow-flagged area.

 

The yellow then became a red flag due to Alfa Romeo’s Bottas parking his C42 racer on the downhill approach to Ravazza due to a technical problem.

 

When the session restarted with three minutes left on the clock, the remaining eight drivers lined-up in the pit-lane for a one-shot lap to decide pole.

 

But neither Verstappen or Leclerc looked like improving when Norris crashed his MCL36 also at Acque Minerali, which set the starting order for the Sprint in stone and allowed Verstappen to clinch his first pole in his championship defence as only one Ferrari was there to battle the Dutchman.

 

In the middle qualifying stage, Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz brought out the second red flag after running over the painted track border, spinning out and crashing into the wall on the exit of the penultimate Ravazza corner, damaging the front-left of his F1-75 racer, but made it through to Q3 due to the rain intensifying and preventing others to make improvements.

 

This meant Mercedes’ pairing George Russell and Lewis Hamilton will start the F1 Sprint in 11th and 13th respectively with Haas F1 Team’s Mick Schumacher 12th in the order.

 

Russell’s F1 W13, which suffered a damaged floor stay in FP1 due to the extreme porpoising issue, missed the cut-off on his sole hot-lap by almost six tenths whilst his team-mate Hamilton struggled to generate tyre temperature throughout the day and failed to progress to Q3 for the second time in three Grands Prix.

 

Alfa Romeo F1 Team ORLEN’s Zhou Guanyu and Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll qualified in 14th and 15th.

 

In the first qualifying segment, which was topped by Leclerc, AlphaTauri pairing Yuki Tsunoda and Pierre Gasly will start the F1 Sprint in 16th and 17th respectively after being knocked from a flurry of late improvements.

 

Williams Racing’s Nicholas Latifi and Alexander Albon ended qualifying in 18th and at the rear with Alpine F1 Team’s Esteban Ocon splitting the duo in a low-19th.

 

Albon brought out the sole red-flag in the session after his right-rear brake disc caught fire and shed debris over the track, with the Thai-Briton driver managing to slowly make his way back to the pits.

 

Ocon was left in the garage due to a gearshift issue and could not head out for one final flyer.

---

Emilia Romagna GP Pole for F1 Sprint- Max Verstappen, #33, Oracle Red Bull Racing-RBPT, RB18, 1:27.999:

 

“It was tricky out there, dry, rain, very slippery. It was hectic, a long qualifying but at the end I’m very happy to be here. It’s a great track, I know tomorrow and Sunday will be different in terms of weather conditions but a great start to the weekend.”

 

You can see the full Formula 1 Rolex Gran Premio Del Made In Italy E Dell’Emilia Romagna 2022 Qualifying Results Classification at the link: https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2022/races/1109/italy/qualifying.html

 

---

#EmiliaRomagnaGP FP1: @CharlesLeclerc leads @ScuderiaFerrari one-two. #F1

@Carlossainz55 extends deal with @ScuderiaFerrari until end of 2024. #F1

#Formula1 Rolex #EmiliaRomagnaGP 2022 Preview. #F1