Verstappen will start ahead of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris after the one-hour qualifying session, which is split into three segments with five cars each being knocked out in Q1 and Q2 before the top-10 shootout of Q3.
Imola Grand Prix grid: Verstappen on pole from Piastri
What happened in Imola Grand Prix Q1?
Piastri set the early pace at 1m15.940s, 0.073s quicker than Verstappen, before F1’s most recent race winner Norris snatched P1 by 0.025s with a 1m15.915s.
Haas’s Nico Hulkenberg briefly grabbed the top spot with 1m15.841s, before Verstappen unleashed a session-topping 1m15.762s, 0.061s ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.
Falling at the first hurdle were Valtteri Bottas (Sauber), Zhou Guanyu (Sauber), Kevin Magnussen (Haas, who was baulked by Piastri on his final lap), Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) and Logan Sargeant (Williams).
Alonso suffered an off at Tamburello, his Aston’s handling looked terrible after the team scrambled to rebuild it after he crashed at Rivazza in FP3. He was forced to abort his final lap with an “unknown problem”.
Sargeant chose the Villeneuve chicane for his ride across the gravel trap. He had his quickest time, that was good enough for 17th, deleted due to exceeding track limits.
Imola GP Q1 results: Verstappen fastest from Leclerc
| Cla | Nº | Driver | Car / Engine | Time | Delay | Laps |
| 1 | 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull/Honda RBPT | 1’15.762 | 6 | |
| 2 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1’15.823 | 0.061 | 9 |
| 3 | 27 | Nico Hülkenberg | Haas/Ferrari | 1’15.841 | 0.079 | 9 |
| 4 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | RB/Honda RBPT | 1’15.894 | 0.132 | 6 |
| 5 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren/Mercedes | 1’15.915 | 0.153 | 7 |
| 6 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren/Mercedes | 1’15.940 | 0.178 | 4 |
| 7 | 55 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | 1’16.015 | 0.253 | 8 |
| 8 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine/Renault | 1’16.015 | 0.253 | 8 |
| 9 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | RB/Honda RBPT | 1’16.060 | 0.298 | 6 |
| 10 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | 1’16.107 | 0.345 | 6 |
| 11 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine/Renault | 1’16.361 | 0.599 | 9 |
| 12 | 11 | Sergio Pérez | Red Bull/Honda RBPT | 1’16.404 | 0.642 | 4 |
| 13 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin/Mercedes | 1’16.458 | 0.696 | 9 |
| 14 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Williams/Mercedes | 1’16.524 | 0.762 | 6 |
| 15 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1’16.604 | 0.842 | 8 |
| 16 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Sauber/Ferrari | 1’16.626 | 0.864 | 6 |
| 17 | 24 | Zhou Guanyu | Sauber/Ferrari | 1’16.834 | 1.072 | 9 |
| 18 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas/Ferrari | 1’16.854 | 1.092 | 8 |
| 19 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin/Mercedes | 1’16.917 | 1.155 | 7 |
| – | 2 | Logan… |
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Motorsport.com – Formula 1 – Stories…