April 22, (THEWILL) – Max Verstappen finished ahead of the pack at the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix Qualifying and will start on pole for Saturday’s Sprint race in Imola.
In what will be the fourth race of the season, the Sprint will make its first appearance of 2022, and Red Bull driver Verstappen will have the best chance to earn the maximum eight points on offer and pole for Sunday’s feature event.
Mercedes’s Sir Lewis Hamilton made it through Q2 and into 13th place, but Mercedes’ difficulties in 2022 persisted.
A red flag was raised after Carlos Sainz lost the rear of his Ferrari and collided with the barriers, putting Hamilton’s chances of qualifying in Q3 in jeopardy.
Sainz had been looking forward to signing a new two-year contract with the Italian squad, but he was humiliated again in qualifying.
It had started raining by the time Q2 was restarted, and those below the top ten had no chance of improving their marks. It was the first time since Japan in 2012 that there was no Mercedes car in Q3 qualifying. Hamilton’s teammate George Russell was also absent.
The rain stopped for the final practise, and the Austrian-backed Red Bull team set their eyes on their 75th pole position since their foundation, which they achieved thanks to a stroke of luck in the closing stages.
Former Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas collided with a barrier with just under three minutes to go, forcing the red flag to come out. Everyone was sent back into the pits.
The rain became heavier and the tyres, colder. After the debris had been cleared, the field began to emerge from the pits, with Verstappen leading the way and Leclerc following close behind. The reigning world champion was a little tardy at the green light at the restart, making it as difficult as legally possible for those behind him to warm their tyres and maximise the amount of flying laps they could get.
With less than a minute remained in the session and no driver able to set up a flying lap, McLaren’s Lando Norris – who finished third – crashed into the hoardings with a late spin, preventing the session from being completed.
Verstappen and Leclerc were set up for a one-two finish in Saturday’s Sprint, which will provide eight points to the winner as well as pole position for Sunday’s main race.
This was how they finished:
1. Verstappen (Red Bull)
2. Leclerc (Ferrari)
3. Norris (McLaren)
4. Magnussen (Haas)
5. Alonso (Alpine)
6. Ricciardo (McLaren)
7. Perez (Red Bull)
8. Bottas (Alfa Romeo)
9. Vettel (Aston Martin)
10. Sainz (Ferrari)
11. Russell (Mercedes)
12. Schumacher (Haas)
13. Hamilton (Mercedes)
14. Zhou (Alfa Romeo)
15. Stroll (Aston Martin)
16. Tsunoda (AlphaTauri)
17. Gasly (AlphaTauri)
18. Latifi (Williams)
19. Ocon (Alpine)
N/A Albon (Williams)
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
