Qualifying defining the starting grid for the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix sprint race was hectic to say the least. The red flags were legion, first in Q1 following the start of a fire on the Williams of Alex Albon which put debris everywhere. In Q2, it was the turn of Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) to cause a neutralization, who made a mistake and hit the wall of tires at Rivazza. The Spaniard was imitated in Q3 by Kevin Magnussen (Haas). In this same session, Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo) came to a standstill at the edge of the track following a mechanical problem. Qualifying stopped for good when Lando Norris (McLaren) came out at Acque Minerale.
Max Verstappen was thus saved by the bell and complicates the task of Ferrari who are the favorites at home on the Imola circuit. The Red Bull driver took pole thanks to a lap time of 1:27.999. He will have Charles Leclerc by his side on the front line. The championship leader misses the boat by seven tenths and might surely have snatched pole without the last red flag. The second row will be occupied by Lando Norris who saves third place despite his adventures and Kevin Magnussen who gives Haas his best result in qualifying by moving up to fourth.
Fernando Alonso (Alpine) and Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren) qualified on the third row. Also trapped by the red flag, Sergio Pérez (Red Bull) might not do better than seventh. Valtteri Bottas saves an eighth time despite his glitches. Credited with no time, Sebastian Vettel (Aston Martin) will nevertheless start ninth. Released in Q2 but qualified for Q3, Carlos Sainz is tenth.
Qualifying was marked by the rout of Mercedes who both failed in Q2 following narrowly missing elimination in Q1. George Russell qualified eleventh, two steps ahead of his team-mate Lewis Hamilton. Eliminated in Q1, the AlphaTauri of Yuki Tsunoda (16th) and Pierre Gasly (17th) as well as the Alpine of Esteban Ocon (19th).
The sprint race defining the starting grid of the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix will start tomorrow at 4:30 p.m.
