Max Verstappen took a record-matching eighth consecutive pole during Saturday’s (May 18) qualifying for the Formula 1 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
Verstappen was followed on the charts by McLaren sophomore Oscar Piastri, with Piastri’s teammate and F1’s newest race winner, Lando Norris, coming in third.
“A really difficult weekend so far, even this morning,” “So I’m incredibly happy to be on pole here, I didn’t expect that. But we made some final changes before qualifying and they seemed to make it feel a bit better, I could push a bit harder. And this track is unbelievable … I’m still pumping, the adrenaline is very high.”
“It’s of course a great start to the year, but also very special,” Verstappen said when asked what it meant to match legend Ayrton Senna’s record of eight consecutive poles. “It’s 30 years since he passed away at this track, so of course I’m very pleased to get pole here and in a way, it’s a nice memory to him. He was an incredible Formula 1 driver, especially in qualifying laps.”
Like the rest of the day, the top-10 shootout was a clean session with no major on-track incidents.
Q3
| Pos. | Driver No. | Driver | Team | Time from Leader |
| 1. | 33 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing RBPT Honda | 1:14.746 |
| 2. | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren Mercedes | +0.000s |
| 3. | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren Mercedes | +0.000s |
| 4. | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | +0.000s |
| 5. | 55 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | +0.000s |
| 6. | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | +0.000s |
| 7. | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | RB RBPT Honda | +0.000s |
| 8. | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | +0.000s |
| 9. | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | RB RBPT Honda | +0.000s |
| 10. | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Haas Ferrari | +0.000s |
Q2
| Pos. | Driver No. | Driver | Team | Time from Advancing |
| 11. | 11 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull Racing RBPT Honda | +0.015s |
| 12. | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine Renault | +0.215s |
| 13. | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes | +0.301s |
| 14. | 23 | Alexander Albon | Williams Mercedes | +0.509s |
| 15. | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine Renault | +0.690s |
Q1
Piastri and Magnussen made up the only incident of note for the day when the McLaren driver appeared to impede Magnussen on a fast lap. Piastri was assessed a three-place grid penalty hours later.
| Pos. | Driver No. | Driver | Team | Time from Advancing |
| 16. | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | KICK Sauber Ferrari | +0.022s |
| 17. | 2 | Logan Sargeant | Williams Mercedes | +0.127s |
| 18. | 24 | Zhou Guanyu | KICK Sauber Ferrari | +0.230s |
| 19. | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas Ferrari | +0.250s |
| 20. | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes | +0.313s |
2024 F1 Imola Qualifying Results
The Emilia Romagna Grand Prix will begin Sunday, May 19, at 9 a.m. ET with coverage on ESPN.
About the author
Alex is the IndyCar Content Director at Frontstretch, having initially joined as an entry-level contributor in 2021. He also serves as Managing Director of The Asia Cable, a publication focused on the international affairs and politics of the Asia-Pacific region which he co-founded in 2023. With previous experience in China, Japan and Poland, Alex is particularly passionate about the international realm of motorsport and the politics that make the wheels turn - literally - behind the scenes.
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