2024 F1 Imola GP qualifying results: Verstappen takes pole

Verstappen will start ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc after the one-hour qualifying session, which is split into three segments with five cars each being knocked out in Q1 and Q2 before the top-10 shootout of Q3.

Norris’s team-mate Oscar Piastri had qualified second, but dropped to fifth after a three-place grid penalty was assessed after he held up that Haas of Kevin Magnussen in Q1.

Imola Grand Prix grid: Verstappen on pole from Norris

What happened in Imola Grand Prix Q1?

Piastri set the early pace at 1m15.940s, 0.073s quicker than Verstappen, before F1’s most recent race winner Norris snatched P1 by 0.025s with a 1m15.915s.

Haas’s Nico Hulkenberg briefly grabbed the top spot with 1m15.841s, before Verstappen unleashed a session-topping 1m15.762s, 0.061s ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.

Falling at the first hurdle were Valtteri Bottas (Sauber), Zhou Guanyu (Sauber), Magnussen (who was baulked by Piastri on his final lap), Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) and Logan Sargeant (Williams).

Alonso suffered an off at Tamburello, his Aston’s handling looked terrible after the team scrambled to rebuild it after he crashed at Rivazza in FP3. He was forced to abort his final lap with an “unknown problem”.

Sargeant chose the Villeneuve chicane for his ride across the gravel trap. He had his quickest time, that was good enough for 17th, deleted due to exceeding track limits. 

Imola GP Q1 results: Verstappen fastest from Leclerc

What happened in Imola Grand Prix Q2?

Leclerc set the bar at 1m15.328s, 0.03s faster than Yuki Tsunoda’s RB, with Verstappen another 0.03s further back.

But Verstappen restored normal service with a session-topping 1m15.176s late on to top Q2 by 0.152s.

Knocked out at this point were Sergio Perez (Red Bull), Esteban Ocon (Alpine), Lance Stroll (Aston Martin), Alex Albon (Williams) and Pierre Gasly (Alpine).

Imola GP Q2 results: Verstappen fastest from Leclerc

What happened in Imola Grand Prix Q3?

On the first runs, Verstappen set the pace at 1m14.869s, 0.073s faster than Norris, while Leclerc was 0.147s off the provisional pole.

On the final runs, Leclerc improved to within 0.101s but stayed third. Verstappen found even more time, with 1m14.746s, to extend his advantage.

Norris got to within 0.091s of pole, but Piastri pipped his team-mate to the front row with a 1m14.820s, 0.074s away from Verstappen – who would have started on the second row if he hadn’t improved on his final push lap. But Piastri will start fifth, due to his penalty.

The Ferraris of Leclerc and Carlos Sainz will start fourth and fifth respectively, ahead of George Russell (Mercedes), Yuki Tsunoda (RB), Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), Daniel Ricciardo (RB) and Hulkenberg.

Imola GP Q3 results: Verstappen takes pole