The rain left a rough qualifying this Friday at Imola (yes, on Friday because of the sprint format), which dampened Ferrari’s hopes. Leclerc was surprised by a Max Verstappen who achieved his best lap before the last red flag, despite going through a yellow flag zone after the breakdown of Bottas’ Alfa Romeo and after taking his foot off the accelerator.
The session resumed with three minutes on the clock, but a Lando Norris crash caused the third red flag of Q3 and the fifth on Friday, preventing everyone from improving. Thus, Charles Leclerc had to settle for second place and Verstappen took his first pole position of the course and the first place for the sprint race this Saturday.
Precisely Norris had the McLaren F1 in third place, and his accident prevented anyone from overtaking him.
Despite the last-minute work of his mechanics in the F1-75 , Carlos Sainz Jr. was able to compete without qualifying from the start, but on his second attempt in Q2, he lost control of the car and ended up against the barriers. The time he already had allowed him to get through to Q3, but there was no time to fix the car and he will have to start 10th on Saturday.
Yes, a Fernando Alonso was able to shoot in the final round, who was the only Alpine that surpassed Q1. The Spaniard got a scare on his first attempt in Q3, having to abort his lap. He then moved up to fifth place, and took advantage of the final red flag to hang on to that spot.
He will start in points this Saturday and will fight to overtake Norris and Kevin Magnussen, who despite causing another interruption in Q3 was able to continue and put Haas fourth, making five teams occupy the top five positions.
Also in the third row, and just behind Alonso, will be Daniel Ricciardo with the other McLaren. The fourth row will be for a Sergio Pérez who disappointed with the other Red Bull and who will start seventh, and who will have Bottas at his side.
He was also in Q3, although with no chance of beating anyone, a Sebastian Vettel who put the Aston Martin ninth while his teammate Stroll was 15th.
After Carlos’ accident in Q2, it started to rain and, despite the fact that there were almost 11 minutes left in that second round, the drivers who were in a position to be eliminated did not take to the track. That’s where the Mercedes stayed, with Russell 11th and Hamilton 13th .
The one that Sainz caused was the second flag of the classification. Earlier, Q1 was halted for around 12 minutes by a conspicuous explosion at Albon’s Williams that will see the Thai start last in tomorrow’s race. Sharing the last row with him will be Esteban Ocon, penultimate after not being able to start due to problems in his Alpine .
2022 F1 Emilia Romagna GP Qualifying Results at Imola: Times and Positions
(Click on ‘see results’ to enjoy the entire table)
| Cla | Pilot | Chassis | Weather | Difference | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Max Verstappen |
 |
Red Bull | 1’27.999 | |
| 2 |  Charles Leclerc |
 |
Ferrari | 1’28.778 | 0.779 |
| 3 |  Lando Norris |
 |
McLaren | 1’29.131 | 1.132 |
| 4 |  Kevin Magnussen |
 |
Haas | 1’29.164 | 1,165 |
| 5 |  Fernando Alonso |
 |
Alpine | 1’29.202 | 1.203 |
| 6 |  Daniel Ricciardo |
 |
McLaren | 1’29.742 | 1.743 |
| 7 |  Sergio Pérez |
 |
Red Bull | 1’29.808 | 1.809 |
| 8 |  Valtteri Bottas |
 |
Alfa Romeo | 1’30.439 | 2.440 |
| 9 |  Sebastian Vettel |
 |
Aston Martin | 1’31.062 | 3.063 |
| 10 | Carlos Sainz Jr. |
 |
ferrari | ||
| see results | |||||
Photo by: Mark Sutton/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton/Motorsport Images
Photo de: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Photo de: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Photo de: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton/Motorsport Images
Photo By: Andy Hone/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton/Motorsport Images
Foto de: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Photo By: Andy Hone/Motorsport Images
Photo By: Andy Hone/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images
Photo de: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Photo de: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Photo de: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Photo By: Andy Hone/Motorsport Images
Photo By: Andy Hone/Motorsport Images
Photo By: Andy Hone/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images
Photo By: Andy Hone/Motorsport Images
Photo By: Andy Hone/Motorsport Images
Photo By: Andy Hone/Motorsport Images
Photo By: Andy Hone/Motorsport Images
Photo By: Andy Hone/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Carl Bingham / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
Photo de: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Carl Bingham / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Zak Mauger/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Carl Bingham / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Carl Bingham / Motorsport Images
Photo de: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
Photo de: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
This was the Q1 of the Imola classification, of the 2022 F1 Emilia Romagna GP
After rain altered part of Friday’s programme, Friday’s qualifying for the Emilia Romagna GP started on a mostly dry track. The Mercedes , the first to roll, appeared with intermediate tires, although we soon began to see the first slicks.
The first five minutes had not yet been completed when Alexander Albon suffered a fire in the right rear brake of his Williams, causing his tire to burst, destroying his diffuser and damaging the car. A red flag period quickly set in, halting activity, but the Thai managed to bring the car to the pits. However, he was unable to start again and will start last in the sprint race.
When the pieces that had been left on the runway were removed, the engines roared again and the runway was filled. There were 12 minutes left and half of the grid still hadn’t set a time. The track, which continued to dry out, got better every minute, and after the first attempt the Ferraris proved to be the favourites.
After a slow first lap, Verstappen improved to take second, and Hamilton, who was penultimate, did the same to take seventh. Latifi, who hadn’t set a time with three minutes remaining, spun, and the Ferraris returned to the front after a brief stint for the lead from Lando Norris.
Leclerc beat Verstappen to finish in front, and Hamilton had to improve on his last attempt to finish 15th, as last qualified for Q2, 1.6s behind first. The two AlphaTauri, Latifi, Albon did crash without a lap and an Esteban Ocon who suffered some problem in his Alpine and did not go out on the track in the last minutes.
Imola qualifying Q1 times, Emilia Romagna GP 2022 F1
| Cla | Pilot | laps | Weather | Difference | Interval | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Charles Leclerc |
 |
10 | 1’18.796 | ||
| 2 | Max Verstappen |
 |
11 | 1’19.295 | 0.499 | 0.499 |
| 3 | Carlos Sainz Jr. |
 |
10 | 1’19,305 | 0.509 | 0.010 |
| 4 |  Guanyu Zhou |
 |
13 | 1’19.730 | 0.934 | 0.425 |
| 5 | Sergio Perez |
 |
12 | 1’19,773 | 0.977 | 0.043 |
| 6 | Daniel Ricciardo |
 |
11 | 1’19.980 | 1.184 | 0.207 |
| 7 | Kevin Magnussen |
 |
11 | 1’20.147 | 1.351 | 0.167 |
| 8 | Lando Norris |
 |
10 | 1’20.168 | 1.372 | 0.021 |
| 9 | Fernando Alonso |
 |
12 | 1’20.198 | 1.402 | 0.030 |
| 10 |  Lance Stroll |
 |
11 | 1’20.342 | 1.546 | 0.144 |
| 11 | Sebastian Vettel |
 |
12 | 1’20.364 | 1.568 | 0.022 |
| 12 | George Russell |
 |
13 | 1’20.383 | 1.587 | 0.019 |
| 13 | Valtteri Bottas |
 |
13 | 1’20.419 | 1.623 | 0.036 |
| 14 | Mick Schumacher |
 |
13 | 1’20.422 | 1.626 | 0.003 |
| 15 | Lewis Hamilton |
|
12 | 1’20.470 | 1.674 | 0.048 |
| 16 16 |  Yuki Tsunoda |
 |
11 11 | 1’20.474 | 1.678 | 0.004 |
| 17 |  Pierre Gasly |
 |
11 | 1’20,732 | 1,936 | 0.258 |
| 18 | Nicholas Latifi |
 |
13 | 1’21.971 | 3.175 | 1.239 |
| 19 | Esteban Ocon |
 |
9 | 1’22.338 | 3.542 | 0.367 |
| 20 |  Alexander Albon |
 |
3 | |||
| see results | ||||||
This was the Q2 of the Imola classification, of the 2022 F1 Emilia Romagna GP
With the threat of rain, everyone wanted to set an early time in the second qualifying round. Sainz was the first to set a time, but when he was on his second attempt, he lost control of the car at Rivazza 2 , between turns 17 and 18, and ended up spinning and hitting the barriers, having to leave the session and causing the second Red flag.
During the break, it started to rain, and when the remaining almost 11 minutes resumed, no one came out. In fact, time passed and the silence was maintained until Vettel broke it with two and a half minutes to go. After the four-time champion, Alonso was also encouraged, as well as Bottas, Leclerc and Norris.
However, they only did it to test the condition of the track ahead of Q3, and none of the drivers outside the top 10 appeared on tarmac, logically throwing in the towel. That saw George Russell eliminated, 11th, with Lewis Hamilton 13th. Among them, Mick Schumacher, and after Hamilton were Guanyu Zhou and Lance Stroll.
Imola qualifying Q2 times, Emilia Romagna GP 2022 F1
| Cla | Pilot | laps | Weather | Difference | Interval | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Max Verstappen |
|
3 | 1’18.793 | ||
| two | Carlos Sainz Jr. |
|
3 | 1’18,990 | 0.197 | 0.197 |
| 3 | Lando Norris |
|
5 | 1’19.294 | 0.501 | 0.304 |
| 4 | Sergio Perez |
|
5 | 1’19,296 | 0.503 | 0.002 |
| 5 | Charles Leclerc |
 |
4 | 1’19.584 | 0.791 | 0.288 |
| 6 | Fernando Alonso |
 |
6 | 1’19.595 | 0.802 | 0.011 |
| 7 | Kevin Magnussen |
 |
3 | 1’19.902 | 1.109 | 0.307 |
| 8 | Sebastian Vettel |
 |
6 | 1’19.957 | 1.164 | 0.055 |
| 9 | Daniel Ricciardo |
 |
3 | 1’20.031 | 1.238 | 0.074 |
| 10 | Valtteri Bottas |
 |
5 | 1’20.192 | 1.399 | 0.161 |
| 11 | George Russell |
 |
3 | 1’20.757 | 1.964 | 0.565 |
| 12 | Mick Schumacher |
|
3 | 1’20.916 | 2.123 | 0.159 |
| 13 | Lewis Hamilton |
 |
3 | 1’21.138 | 2.345 | 0.222 |
| 14 | Guanyu Zhou |
 |
3 | 1’21.434 | 2.641 | 0.296 |
| 15 | Lance Stroll |
|
3 | 1’28.119 | 9.326 | 6.685 |
| see results | ||||||
