John N
With the weather conditions wet and chilly at Imola on Friday, fans were rewarded with a thriller of a qualifying session that saw Max Verstappen snatch his first pole position. Here are five things we learned from practice and qualifying:
- Verstappen’s title defense is back on track
Max Verstappen arrived at the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza on the back of a disappointing retirement – his second of the season – and was keen to start afresh in the fight for the world title. He was confident that Red Bull was on top of its reliability issues and hopeful it could be in contention for the pole. And while Ferrari appeared to have the edge on pure pace in practice, Verstappen got the job done when it mattered in qualifying. The reigning world champion took his opportunity to get two timed laps before the rain hit.
Max Verstappen is worried about Ferrari, but he’s in a good position on a track where overtaking isn’t easy. There’s also second practice on Saturday morning, where the conditions are expected to be the warmest and driest they’ve been all weekend, with that good weather set to continue for the rest of the weekend. If Red Bull’s race runs prove to be competitive, Verstappen will be in good shape to score big in the Sprint – where eight points are now on offer for the winner – and the Grand Prix and help slash Charles Leclerc’s lead.
- Ferrari endures mixed fortunes.
Ferrari was the class of the field in practice at Imola, delighting their loyal Tifosi, who packed the grandstands around the picturesque Italian track. Both cars looked to have the pace to get on the front row in the first qualifying segment, but there was frustration when Carlos Sainz lost control of his F1-75 and ended up in the barrier. That ultimately left him and his team with a lot of work to do overnight to rebuild his car for Sunday’s race.
Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc was quick but erratic on Friday. He spun four times in practice as he pushed for performance in tricky conditions – but arrived in Q3 as a favorite for pole. He has topped the charts by 0.02s after the first run. But P2 is a strong position – he’s been first or second in Q3 in every session this year – and he’ll feel good about his chances of starting Saturday’s race on the front row.
- McLaren impressive despite poor racing conditions
When Lando Norris posted third on the grid at Imola, it came as a bit of a shock to his McLaren team – mainly as he’d run off course late in Q3. But it was evident that the team is making progress: Friday’s mixed conditions proved to be an equalizer, masking some of the deficits that had held McLaren back this season.
Daniel Ricciardo made it two McLarens inside the top six, confirming what he’s been saying for weeks now: He believes he could have been even higher up on the grid had the red flag not prevented a second run. Data shows McLaren was the third quickest overall in qualifying, around two tenths quicker than Alpine – and their most robust Saturday performance. Now they must confirm their pace in race trim – but confidence is growing in both the team and its drivers. They still have an hour of practice to work on long runs.
- Mercedes struggles continue
Mercedes’ poor qualifying form continued this weekend as they were a staggering five seconds off the leading pace in a wet practice. And things got worse in qualifying, with the reigning constructors’ world champion failing to reach Q3 with either car for the first time since the 2012 Japanese Grand Prix, ending an impressive streak of 187 Grands Prix.
Even if the rain hadn’t come just after a red flag in Q2, both Hamilton and George Russell would have faced a fight to get into the final part of qualifying. Hamilton only made it out of Q1 by 0.004s.
- Magnussen in top form
Haas F1 needed a solid start in Imola, and they did get one on Friday, with both Kevin Magnussen and Mick Schumacher looking confident in the car early on during practice. The duo continued their form into qualifying, with Magnussen escaping early in Q3 from the gravel pit. And then the Dane, who has qualified within the top ten three times in four attempts this season, produced a perfect lap to secure the fourth-fastest time, the best qualifying performance in Haas’s history.
Since his shock recall, Magnussen has been on another level and consistently extracted the most out of VF-22. Mick Schumacher is in a decent position in P12 – and has the pace for points. An intense F1 Sprint and Grand Prix result s looking like a good bet.
