Emilia Romagna Grand Prix Qualifying: Verstappen bounces back for pole

Max Verstappen fought back from a troubled Friday to take pole position for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, edging out McLaren’s young guns at Imola for a second consecutive Saturday.

The Red Bull RB20 had balance issues on Friday, while the upgraded McLaren MCL38 continued the strong pace it has shown since Miami, putting Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri, and home hero Charles Leclerc in contention for pole.

However, Red Bull found more performance in its car through final practice, and as qualifying began, Verstappen gradually found his rhythm, topping both the first two segments.

In Q3, the Dutchman posted a 1:14.869 on his first flying lap, with Norris just 0.073 seconds behind in second and Leclerc a further fraction off in third.

On their final runs, Verstappen improved slightly to a 1:14.746. Norris shaved another tenth off his time but was still 0.090s adrift, while Leclerc managed a 1:14.869. Piastri, having set his lap later, clocked a 1:14.820 to move ahead of both his teammate and the Ferrari driver. However, the Australian is under investigation for an alleged blocking incident in Q1, which could jeopardize his front-row start for Sunday’s grand prix.

Carlos Sainz missed out on a challenge for pole, qualifying fifth, just 0.001s quicker than George Russell, who emerged as the fastest Mercedes driver and will start from the third row.

Yuki Tsunoda impressed at the Red Bull Ring, making it into the top four in both the opening sectors. The Japanese driver qualified seventh, ahead of seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton. Daniel Ricciardo helped secure a double-Q3 appearance for Red Bull and will start ahead of Nico Hulkenberg of Haas.

Sergio Perez was a surprise casualty in Q2, falling short by just 0.015s to Ricciardo, who was then in tenth. Both Alpine cars made it through to Q2, but Esteban Ocon finished 12th, with Pierre Gasly only managing 15th. Lance Stroll and Alex Albon filled positions 13 and 14.

Zhou Guanyu had a difficult weekend, battling various issues with his car throughout qualifying. He reported oversteer multiple times in Q1 and missed out on advancing by 0.23s, ending up 17th, just behind his teammate Valtteri Bottas.

The Finn looked set for Q2 until he was squeezed out by Hamilton, who beat him by just 0.022s. Kevin Magnussen, in his last flying lap, encountered Piastri not on a hot lap, and his slide cost him, leaving him behind Zhou in the standings.

Logan Sargent, initially ahead of Zhou, had his final lap deleted for going off track at Turn 9, and with his previous lap also being compromised by a track limits violation, he dropped to last place.

Fernando Alonso suffered a crash in the third practice session, but Aston Martin’s mechanics managed to repair his AMR24 in time for him to join the action early in Q1. However, the Spaniard’s car didn’t find the right setup, and he had another grassy moment. Initially last on the timesheet, Alonso moved up to 19th after Sargent’s time was disallowed.