Verstappen takes pole position at Imola

Max Verstappen secured pole position at the 2024 Imola Grand Prix, surpassing McLaren drivers Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris. Despite a challenging start in practice, Verstappen and Red Bull made adjustments before qualifying that significantly improved the car's performance.

In Q3, Verstappen led from the start with a time of 1m14.869s. Charles Leclerc and Ferrari could not keep up the pace and fell out of the top 3. Verstappen improved his time to 1m14.746s on his second attempt, despite a small mistake in the final corner.

Oscar Piastri had an outstanding performance, finishing just 0.074s behind Verstappen. However, he is under investigation for a potential block on Kevin Magnussen in Q1. Lando Norris completed the top 3, though a slower middle sector prevented him from improving his initial time.

Carlos Sainz, George Russell, and Yuki Tsunoda completed the next positions, with Tsunoda standing out in Q2 before falling in the fight for pole. Lewis Hamilton was eighth, followed by Daniel Ricciardo and Nico Hulkenberg.

In Q2, Verstappen led again, followed by Leclerc. Sergio Perez, in the other Red Bull, was the biggest loser, failing to advance to Q3. Esteban Ocon, Lance Stroll, Alex Albon, and Pierre Gasly were also eliminated in this stage.

In Q1, Verstappen led ahead of Leclerc. Valtteri Bottas, Logan Sargeant, and Zhou Guanyu failed to advance, finishing in positions 16 to 18. Magnussen finished 19th, and Fernando Alonso was last after a car problem following an accident in FP3.