Max Verstappen said he was pleased to take pole position at Imola – and equal a record held by Ayrton Senna – after a “really difficult” start to the weekend.
The Red Bull driver said yesterday they were “severely” off the pace. But he beat the two McLaren drivers by less than a tenth of a second to take pole position for the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix.
He remains unbeaten in qualifying sessions so far this year. This was his eighth consecutive pole position since the final round of last season, equalling the record for most poles in a row set by Senna from 1988 to 1989. Senna died in a crash at the Imola circuit during the 1994 race.
Verstappen said he’s had “a great start to the year” and it was “very special” to equal Senna.
“It’s 30 years since he passed away at this track so of course I’m very pleased to get pole here. In a way it’s a nice memory to him.
“He was an incredible human and driver, especially in qualifying laps as well. So a great day for me, a great day for the team, I’m very, very happy.”
The Red Bull driver looked more competitive from the start of final practice on Saturday having been off the pace on Friday. He said he’d had “a really difficult weekend so far, even this morning, so I’m incredibly happy to be on pole here.”
“I didn’t expect that,” said Verstappen. “We made some final changes before qualifying, they seem to make it feel a bit better. I could push a bit harder.
“This track is unbelievable. In a qualifying lap, to be on the limit here, close to the gravel – I touched the gravel in the last corner. I’m still pumping, the adrenaline is very, very high.”
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
2024 Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at RaceFans…