Verstappen claims pole after stop-start session in Imola

A chaotic Qualifying session in Imola ended prematurely with Max Verstappen taking pole position for tomorrow’s Sprint.

Red was the prime colour in Formula 1’s first competitive session in Italy, but perhaps not in the way the Tifosi would have hoped.

Verstappen edged out championship rival Charles Leclerc for pole position, with Red Bull beating Ferrari at home following five red flags across the three parts of Qualifying.

Q1 was brought to a standstill after a brake failure for Alex Albon, leaving b0th Williams cars knocked out alongside Esteban Ocon and both AlphaTauri cars in what was a disappointing day for the Red Bull sister team.

The story was similar in Q2, with Carlos Sainz bringing out the red flag early on. However, due to the returning rain, nobody was able to set a lap leaving both Mercedes drivers out with Lance Stroll, Zhou Guanyu and Mick Schumacher.

After two initial stoppages in Q3, the session eventually ended when Lando Norris’ McLaren careered into the wall with just seconds left, finalizing the grid for Saturday.

More trouble for Williams Racing

The struggles for the Grove-based outfit continued in Imola, two weeks on from a triumphant point-scoring race in Australia following Albon’s final-lap pit stop strategy.

However, it was back down to earth in Italy for Williams as both drivers were eliminated in Q1. Six minutes in, Albon suffered a brake failure that sent him back into his garage, not emerging for the rest of the session.

This leaves the Thai driver starting last for tomorrow’s Sprint, just behind teammate Nicholas Latifi who was unable to break into Q2.

The Canadian saw another mistake in what has been a messy start to his 2022 campaign, spinning on the exit of turn six.

Latifi’s own frustration was highlighted when he simply said:

“I don’t understand.”

Red flags and rain mix-up running order

In each session of Qualifying, a red flag brought a stop to running thanks to incidents for Albon, Sainz and Magnussen.

Although in a traditional dry session this would have simply delayed running, the stoppage in Q2 proved crucial in deciding the grid for tomorrow’s Sprint.

Due to a mid-session rain shower, no drivers outside the top-ten could best their time, leaving both Mercedes cars outside of the top-ten as well as Zhou and Schumacher, two drivers in good contention for a spot in Q3.

This was the first time the Silver Arrows have not put a car in the final part of Qualifying since the 2012 Japanese Grand Prix.

As well as this, red flags in Q3 prevented a last-gasp fight for pole position between Red Bull and Ferrari, setting the grid for tomorrow’s Sprint.

Magnussen elated with best Qualifying position for Haas

Despite a red-flag causing incident in Q3, Kevin Magnussen was able to secure Haas F1 Team’s best qualifying position in Formula 1 after six previous years in the sport.

The Danish driver made his return to the F1 grid with Haas after he left the team in 2020, immediately performing on his return in Bahrain.

However, in harsh conditions, Magnussen was able to secure a career-best fourth for the American outfit.

Speaking to Sky Sports, he said:

“It’s still just so cool to be able to be in this position and fighting that close to the top, I think we were stronger in the wet than we are going to be in the dry but it’s still crazy.

“As I was spinning, I realised it went into anti-stall and I knew if you stop, then you’re not moving it.”

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