Red Bull’s Max Verstappen claimed his 7th pole position of the season at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, the seventh round of the 2024 Formula 1 World Championship, held at the iconic Imola circuit. Verstappen will start at the front, followed by McLaren’s Lando Norris and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, after a mighty intense qualifying session.
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Despite being off the pace and facing handling issues during free practice, the reigning three-time world champion wrestled his RB20 around the track to reaffirm his authority on the sport.
This pole position marks Verstappen’s eighth consecutive pole, tying the record set by the legendary Ayrton Senna, whose 30th death anniversary the sport is mourning at the very circuit where he so tragically lost his life this weekend. With the potential to break this record at the upcoming Monaco Grand Prix, all eyes will be on the Dutch driver.
The first session of qualifying saw Oscar Piastri initially set the pace with a 1 minute 15.940 seconds, narrowly edging out Verstappen. However, Lando Norris soon took the lead with a lap time of 1 minute 15.915 seconds. Haas’s Nico Hulkenberg briefly topped the charts with a 1 minute 15.841 seconds lap time, only for Verstappen to reclaim the lead, setting a time of 1 minute 15.762 seconds. Notable early exits included the Sauber duo of Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu, Kevin Magnussen’s Haas, Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin, and Logan Sargeant of Williams. Alonso’s uncharacteristic struggles continued through into qualifying as he went off at Tamburello after a crash in final practice, leading to handling issues with his car.
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In Q2, Charles Leclerc was initially the fastest, with a laptime of 1 minute 15.328 seconds. Yuki Tsunoda and Verstappen followed closely, but Verstappen ultimately dominated with a 1 minute 15.176 seconds, topping Q2. This session saw the shock elimination of Sergio Perez’s Red Bull, as well as Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly’s Alpines, Lance Stroll’s Aston Martin, and Alex Albon’s Williams.
The final ten minutes of qualifying was a nail-biter. Verstappen set the benchmark with a 1 minute 14.869 second lap time on his initial run, ahead of Norris by a small margin. Leclerc was also in the mix, 0.147 seconds off provisional pole. Verstappen solidified his lead with a 1 minute 14.746 second lap time on his final run. Oscar Piastri, who had a stellar performance to initially qualify second, was relegated to fifth after a three-place grid penalty for impeding Magnussen in Q1. Consequently, Norris moved up to second, and Leclerc secured third.
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As the teams prepare for race day, the stage is set for a thrilling contest at Imola, with Red Bull, McLaren, and Ferrari all vying for the top spot on the podium.
Starting Grid:
- Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
- Lando Norris (McLaren)
- Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
- Carlos Sainz (Ferrari)
- Oscar Piastri (McLaren, penalized)
- George Russell (Mercedes)
- Yuki Tsunoda (VCARB)
- Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
- Daniel Ricciardo (VCARB)
- Nico Hulkenberg (Haas)
- Sergio Perez (Red Bull)
- Esteban Ocon (Alpine)
- Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)
- Alex Albon (Williams)
- Pierre Gasly (Alpine)
- Valterri Bottas (Clean)
- Guanyu Zhou (Sauber)
- Kevin Magnussen (Haas)
- Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)
- Logan Sargeant (Williams)
