Mercedes Disappoints as Max Verstappen Takes Away Pole Position in a Safety-Car-Ridden Imola Grand Prix Qualifying Session

Mercedes Disappoints as Max Verstappen Takes Away Pole Position in a Safety-Car-Ridden Imola Grand Prix Qualifying Session

The Imola Grand Prix

The Qualifying session of the first Sprint Race weekend of 2022 was underway in a rain-soaked Imola Grand Prix to decide who gets to take pole position for tomorrow’s race. Most drivers went out on intermediate tyres because the track was stick wet. With the FIA announcing some new rules for this weekend, the Sprint Race has become a crucial event for the racers as the winner gets to take 8 Championship points to his name.

As reigning World Champion Max Verstappen from Red Bull currently sits 46 points away from leader Charles Leclerc, he needed to make a splash at the Qualifying Session in order to start his Sprint Race from an advantageous position. He made the headlines with a spectacular lap in Q3 as he bagged the Pole Position at the Emiglia Romania Grand Prix. He set a time of 1:27.999 and took the first spot.

Verstappen will be followed by Charles Leclerc, the other driver to start from the first row. He narrowly missed out on the pole position by 0.779 seconds. Behind them, Lando Norris and Kevin Magnussen have sealed the second row in tomorrow’s Sprint Race.

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5 red flags and some major disappointment plagued prominent teams in the Imola Grand Prix Qualifying Session

Lewis Hamilton
Lewis Hamilton

Williams’ Alex Albon had an issue with his car brakes catching fire while 12 minutes were still left for Q1 to end. This brought up the first red flag of the session of the Imola Grand Prix Qualifiers. Albon will have to start from the back of the grid once more, after his misfortune in Australia. Lewis Hamilton got through to Q2 by the skin of his teeth in the 15th position.

The session marked to be a major disappointment for both Alfa Tauri and Williams as they lost both their drivers in Q1. Gasly, who was in the top 10 in the Australian GP at Albert Park, could not get out of the bottom 5 of the grid in Imola.

The second red flag of the Imola Grand Prix Qualifying Session came from Carlos Sainz as he drove into the sidewall while about 11 minutes were still left of the Q2 session. Carlos’ run in Melbourne was also hampered by reliability issues with his Ferrari, and this week, it seems, he will start from the 10th place in the grid.

The third red flag was brought about by Kevin Magnussen in Q3 as he drove into the sidewall as well. A fourth red flag was also declared three minutes before the end of Q3. Valtteri Bottas, who was running sixth amongst the top 10 in the Qualifiers, ran into the pitwall just as Max Verstappen achieved provisional pole in Imola.

Mercedes had their worst qualifying in a long time this weekend. Both George Russell and Lewis Hamilton got out at Q2 of the Imola Grand Prix and reacting to this, former Merc driver Nico Rosberg said, “It’s unbelievable to see how Mercedes is struggling in the track right now.”

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