Max Verstappen secured his eighth consecutive pole position in qualifying for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Imola on Saturday, equaling Ayrton Senna’s record. The three-time Red Bull world champion’s dominance in qualifying took him level with Senna’s run of eight pole positions, three decades after the late great Brazilian’s tragic death on the Italian circuit in 1994. “It’s a great start to the year, but also a very special one. 30 years since he passed away on this track,” said Verstappen.
“Of course, I’m very pleased to get pole here and in a way it’s a good memory for him (Senna), he was an incredible Formula 1 driver, especially in the qualifying laps too, so a great day for me and a great day for the team, I’m very happy.”
Oscar Piastri’s McLaren should have started alongside the unstoppable Dutchman on Sunday after recording the second fastest time, 0.074 seconds behind, in a tight qualifying session.
However, the Australian lost three places on the grid for impeding Kevin Magnussen’s Haas.
This promoted McLaren teammate Lando Norris, winner last time out in Miami, to the front row.
The two Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz will start from the second row with Piastri now alongside George Russell’s Mercedes on the third row.
The RB of Yuki Tsunoda, Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), Daniel Ricciardo (RB) and Nico Hulkenberg (Haas) completed the top 10.
The glaring absentee from the front five rows was the Red Bull of Sergio Perez, who went out in the second qualifying session, with the Mexican muttering “what a mess” on the team radio.
– ‘Tiny Margins’ –
Piastri was initially thrilled to be so close to pole.
“My lap was a little tricky in the final corner, but it’s very difficult to do a perfect lap on this circuit,” he said before the penalty was applied.
Norris added: “It’s not a bad job, it’s about tiny margins.”
After a chaotic third practice on a beautiful sunny day at the Autodromo, Enzo and Dino Ferrari Verstappen picked up the pace and took the lead after eight minutes in 1:16.013, only to be overtaken within a minute by Piastri and then Norris, the McLarens endorsing their practice speed.
Fernando Alonso’s difficult day continued when his Aston Martin left Tamburello, plunging into the gravel but avoiding any contact with the barriers. He stopped, accepting that he could not improve on 20th and last place on the grid.
Hulkenberg then took the lead for Haas before Verstappen overtook him along with Leclerc as Q1 ended with Sauber’s Valtteri Bottas, Williams’ Logan Sargeant Sauber’s Zhou Guanyu and Magnussen, in the second Haas, leaving with Alonso.
Hamilton came out early to lead Q2, ahead of Russell, before the Red Bulls finally found their rhythm, with Verstappen taking the lead in 1:15.386 despite starting at Rivazza, with Perez second. Everyone was running with softs.
Leclerc then took the initiative with Tsunoda taking second place, proof that Red Bull were not getting what they wanted – and the top seven were half a second off the pace.
In his second races, Verstappen improved to take first place, but his teammate Perez lost contention for the top ten and was eliminated in 11th along with Alpine’s Esteban Ocon, Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll, Williams’ Alex Albon and Pierre Gasly. , with a Senna yellow helmet, in the second Alpine.
The top four were separated by four tenths of a second in the final laps, in which Verstappen, tapping into his reserves of talent, took pole with a stunning lap in 1:14.746 – a clear example of an exceptional driver delivering beyond the car’s potential. from him.
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