Emilia Romagna GP: Verstappen claims pole position in rain-inturrepted session

Max Verstappen (Red Bull), the defending Formula One champion, claimed pole position in the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix qualifying sprint on Friday.

At the Enzo e Dino Ferrari track in the Bologna suburb of Imola, the 24-year-old Dutchman triumphed after a session marred by rain and many red lights.

Verstappen, on the other hand, was only 0.799s faster than Monaco’s Charles Leclerc (Ferrari), the current driver standings leader.

Lando Norris (McLaren) will start from P3 alongside Kevin Magnussen (Haas), with Spanish two-time F1 champion Fernando Alonso (Alpine) and Australian Daniel Ricciardo sharing the third row (McLaren).

Sergio “Checo” Perez (Red Bull) was eighth, ahead of Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo) and four-time champion Sebastian Vettel of Germany (Aston Martin).

Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) qualified for the 10th position on the grid despite not competing in the final round due to an accident in Q2.

Neither Mercedes driver qualified in Q3 for the first time since the Japanese Grand Prix in October 2012.

George Russell will start from P11, while Lewis Hamilton, who is chasing a record ninth Formula One title, will start from P13.

Hamilton, 37, is now seventh in the standings with 28 points, more than 40 points behind Leclerc but three points ahead of Saudi Arabia Grand Prix winner Verstappen, who has failed to finish the first two races of the season.

In the driver standings, the winner of Saturday’s sprint receives three points, while second place receives two points and third place receives one point.

The sprint result, more crucially, decides the starting order for Sunday’s major event.

Since the feature was introduced at the start of last season, Emilia Romagna 2022 is the fourth Grand Prix to incorporate a qualifying sprint.

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