Max Verstappen beats Charles Leclerc to pole for Imola sprint race as both Mercedes cars fail to make Q3

Lando Norris hit the wall with 38 seconds remaining to trigger the fifth red flag of the session and seal Verstappen’s first pole position of the season

Max Verstappen secured his first pole position of the season at a rain-soaked Imola (POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Max Verstappen will start Saturday’s sprint race at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix on pole position after both Mercedes cars failed to make it through to Q3 for the first time in almost 10 years at Imola on Friday evening.

After Carlos Sainz’s crash in Q2 triggered a red flag, the rain began to pour and brought wet conditions for the remainder of the session, leaving both Lewis Hamilton and George Russell eliminated as they opted to not risk a further lap in the rain.

It marked the first time since the Japanese Grand Prix in 2012 that Mercedes failed to have a car finish in the top 10 of qualifying as their early season struggles continued, with Toto Wolff saying his team’s issues with ‘porpoising’ were their worst yet this year.

After scraping through Q1 by just 0.004s, Hamilton vented his frustration: “How far are we off, man? This is crazy,” he said. It is the second time Hamilton has failed to make it through to Q3 in four races this season, although the 37-year-old could yet improve his starting grid position in Saturday’s sprint race.

At the other end of the field, Verstappen will start ahead of Charles Leclerc after he held on to provisional pole in a rain-soaked and red flag-hit qualifying session. Verstappen clocked a faster time than Leclerc just as Valtteri Bottas pulled up off the track to trigger the fourth red flag of the session.

Qualifying eventually resumed with just under three minutes of the session remaining, but Lando Norris then put his McLaren into the wall to bring up a fifth red flag stoppage with 38 seconds left, and with it the end of the session.

Norris was running in third and it meant none of the final 10 drivers could improve upon their times, handing defending champion Verstappen his first pole position of the season.

“It was tricky out there,” Verstappen said. “It was very slippery. I’m very pleased with pole position. It’s a good start to the weekend.”

The finishing order to the first of three sprint races to be held in the 2022 Formula One season will determine the starting grid for Sunday’s race. There have been tweaks to the sprint races this season, with the driver who finishes P1 receiving eight points, up from three last season.

Emilia Romagna Grand Prix qualifying results

1. Max Verstappen - Red Bull

2. Charles Leclerc - Ferrari

3. Lando Norris - McLaren

4. Kevin Magnussen - Haas

5. Fernando Alonso - Alpine

6. Daniel Ricciardo - McLaren

7. Sergio Perez - Red Bull

8. Valtteri Bottas - Alfa Romeo

9. Sebastian Vettel - Aston Martin

10. Carlos Sainz - Ferrari

11. George Russell - Mercedes

12. Mick Schumacher - Haas

13. Lewis Hamilton - Mercedes

14. Guanyu Zhou - Alfa Romeo

15. Lance Stroll - Aston Martin

16. Yuki Tsunoda - Alpha Tauri

17. Pierre Gasly - Alpha Tauri

18. Nicolas Latifi - Williams

19. Esteban Ocon - Alpine

20. Alex Albon - Williams