Emilia Romagna Grand Prix Qualifying: Verstappen fights 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 pairing at Imola and securing a second consecutive pole.

The Red Bull RB20 had struggled with balance on Friday, while the upgraded McLaren MCL38 continued to show strong pace from Miami, making Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri, and home favorite Charles Leclerc potential pole-sitters.

However, Red Bull found some performance in its car during Saturday morning’s third free practice, and as qualifying began, Verstappen gradually found his rhythm, topping both Q1 and Q2.

In Q3, the Dutchman clocked a 1:14.869 on his first flying lap, with Norris just behind on a 1:14.942 and Leclerc a fraction off in third.

On their final runs, Verstappen improved slightly to a 1:14.746. Norris managed a 1:14.837, while Leclerc improved to a 1:14.869. Piastri, who crossed the line later, produced a 1:14.820 to slot in ahead of his teammate and the Ferrari driver. However, the Australian was under investigation for potentially blocking in Q1, which could jeopardize his front-row start for Sunday’s grand prix.

Carlos Sainz Jr., the other Ferrari driver, was unable to challenge for pole and settled for fifth, only 0.001 seconds quicker than George Russell, who emerged as the fastest Mercedes driver and will start from the third row.

Yuki Tsunoda impressed in the RB at his team’s home circuit, making it into the top four in both Q1 and Q2. The Japanese driver qualified seventh, ahead of seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton. Daniel Ricciardo helped Red Bull lock out the top 10, starting ahead of Nico Hülkenberg in the Haas.

Sergio Pérez surprisingly fell at Q2, missing out on Q3 by just 0.015 seconds to Ricciardo. Both Alpine cars advanced to the second round, but Esteban Ocon finished 12th, while Pierre Gasly could only manage 15th. Lance Stroll and Alex Albon filled the 13th and 14th positions.

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 0.23 seconds, ending up 17th, just behind his teammate Valtteri Bottas.

The Finn looked set for Q2 until he was bumped out by his former Mercedes teammate Hamilton, the gap between them a mere 0.022 seconds. Kevin Magnussen, in his last attempt, lost time after encountering Piastri, who wasn’t on a flying lap, and ended up behind Zhou.

Logan Sargent, in the Williams, initially lined up ahead of Zhou but had his final lap canceled for running wide at Turn 9. With his previous lap also being compromised by track limits, he dropped to last place.

Fernando Alonso had an accident in the third practice session, but the Aston Martin crew managed to repair his AMR24 in time for him to join Q1. However, his car couldn’t find the right setup, and the two-time world champion had another grassy moment. Initially last on the timesheets, Alonso moved up to 19th after Sargent’s time was deleted.