Max Verstappen matched Ayrton Senna’s long-standing record of eight consecutive Formula 1 pole positions after impressively hitting back to deny Miami victors McLaren in qualifying for Sunday’s Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
Verstappen faced a serious challenge from both McLaren drivers after a difficult start to the weekend for world champions Red Bull at Imola but ultimately found the speed he needed in qualifying with a final lap of 1:14.746 to pip Oscar Piastri, who initially qualified second, and Lando Norris to the head of the grid by less than a tenth of a second.
However, Piastri’s second position always appeared vulnerable after the Australian had been placed under investigation by stewards during Q1 for impeding Kevin Magnussen. A three-place penalty was later confirmed for Piastri, dropping him to fifth and promoting team-mate Norris to the front row next to Verstappen.
Verstappen’s eighth pole in a row – a sequence which dates back to the final round of the 2023 season in Abu Dhabi last November – ties Senna’s record, which the Brazilian great set in 1989. F1 has been paying tribute to the triple world champion at Imola this weekend, 30 years on from his death at the Italian circuit.
Verstappen also ties another legend of the sport, Alain Prost, with seven consecutive poles from the start of a season.
Aided by their biggest upgrade of the season so far for their home race, Ferrari had themselves looked a serous threat to Verstappen’s qualifying dominance through practice and then the early stages of qualifying but their challenge faded in Q3 with Charles Leclerc ending up fourth and Carlos Sainz fifth.
Piastri’s penalty promotes Leclerc and Sainz a place apiece though to third and fourth.
Mercedes, despite yet more changes to their W15 car, once more qualified behind their key rivals in sixth and eighth, although their 0.488s deficit to the front was at least smaller than at other tracks recently.
And in what is becoming a theme of their final season as team-mates, George Russell outqualified Lewis Hamilton for the sixth time in seven races – this time by over two-tenths a second with the latter struggling for grip in his W15.
The British pair are separated on the grid by RB’s Yuki Tsunoda, who has starred throughout the weekend so far and took seventh ahead of Hamilton. Tsunoda had threatened an even greater shock when he finished third fastest in Q2.
Daniel Ricciardo was ninth in the second RB after delivering his first Q3 appearance in main Grand Prix qualifying this year, with the ever-impressive Nico Hulkenberg once more rounding out the top 10 for Haas.
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Watch Sergio Perez get knocked out of Qualifying at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix
But Red Bull’s Sergio Perez (Q2) and Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso (Q1) suffered shock early exits having both earlier crashed in final practice.
How Verstappen turned the tables on fast rivals – with a little help from a friend
Given he equalled a 35-year-old record for qualifying dominance on Saturday, it might seem strange to suggest that Verstappen’s latest pole was unexpected, but the world champion had certainly not appeared the favourite to head the grid after the three practice sessions at a sun-kissed Imola.
Verstappen had struggled with his upgraded RB20’s set-up on Friday, unusually running through the gravel on three separate occasions, and while the car appeared in a happier place in Saturday’s earlier third practice after set-up changes, he still finished the final session before qualifying adrift of the pacesetting McLarens and Ferraris.
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Sky F1’s Ted Kravitz reflects on all the big talking points from qualifying at the Emilia Romagna GP.
Once in to qualifying, Verstappen did top both Q1 and Q2 from Leclerc but his rivals had been quicker in the opening laps of each knockout session, suggesting the Red Bull was having to work harder to unlock its pace. Until that is the Dutchman took provisional pole with his first lap of Q3 from Norris and Piastri, before eking out a little more time on his final attempt to seal a hard-won 39th career pole.
“Incredibly happy to be on pole here. I didn’t expect that,” admitted Verstappen afterwards. “We made some final changes before qualifying and they seemed to make it feel better. I could push harder.
“This track is unbelievable. To be on the limit here in qualifying, close to the gravel, I touched the gravel in the last corner.
“The adrenaline is very, very high.”
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Nico Hulkenberg and Max Verstappen explain how the Haas driver’s helpful tow got Max Verstappen pole at the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix
Holding a slender 0.073s advantage over initial closest Q3 challenger Norris heading into the decisive final attempts of, Verstappen perhaps crucially also benefitted from a straightline-speed boosting ‘tow’ from Hulkenberg’s Haas ahead of him on the track on the long curved run to the first chicane.
“We were tow buddies out there,” said Verstappen. In Q2 already, and in Q3. So I gave him a tow to 17, then he gave me a tow to Turn Two. I think I arrived a bit too quick for my liking because I did miss Turn Two little bit.
“So I did gain and then I did lose a bit in Turn Two. Overall, I think it did help me a little bit. But when you are struggling the whole weekend and then finally it’s coming around, you have to look for these little advantages to try to stay ahead, and it worked out beautifully.”
Hulkenberg, who had again performed impressively to get Haas into Q3, told Sky F1 he had been returning the favour after Verstappen had towed him in the second knockout phase.
“Max and I have been helping each other out in qualifying,” said Hulkenberg. “He helped me out a few times in Q2 and I returned the favour. You need support sometimes.”
Qualifying days to forget for Alonso and Perez
Saturday proved forgettable for two of the sport’s most experienced drivers.
Alonso, who claimed one of his most famous career wins at Imola in 2005 against Michael Schumacher, had an unusually error-strewn day with a big crash at Rivazza.in practice – which necessitated a major repair from his Aston Martin crew – followed up by a costly trip through the Parabolica gravel trap at the start of Q1.
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Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso brings out the red flag during FP3 after making ‘a rare mistake’.
Without a representative time on the board, Alonso then pitted with an unspecified car problem before completing his final run, with the Spaniard only spared 20th and last on the grid by the fact Williams’ Logan Sargeant had his quickest lap time deleted.
“It was one of those days where everything went a bit wrong for us,” said Alonso, whose Aston Martin team then saw Lance Stroll knocked out in Q2 in 13th place.
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Sergio Perez brought out the second red flag of the FP3 session after the Red Bull driver went wide and hit the barrier.
Perez, meanwhile, slid off track and nudged the barrier at the Variante Alta chicane in practice and then was unable to find the pace required to make the top 10 in Q2, leaving him 11th.
Sky Sports F1’s live Emilia Romagna GP schedule
Sunday May 19
7.30am: F3 Feature Race
9am: F2 Feature Race
12:30pm: Grand Prix Sunday: Emilia Romagna GP build-up
2pm: The EMILIA ROMAGNA GRAND PRIX
4pm: Chequered Flag: Emilia Romagna GP reaction
5pm: Ted’s Notebook
8pm: Indy 500 Qualifying
Formula 1 heads to Europe as Imola returns to the calendar following last year’s cancelled race. Watch the Emilia Romagna GP this weekend, with Sunday’s race at 2pm. Stream every F1 race and more with a NOW Sports Month Membership – No contract, cancel anytime