Verstappen edges Piastri to take Imola pole - reaction (2024)

1. Posted at 15:45 18 May15:45 18 May

   Verstappen beats McLarens to take Imola pole

   

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   Andrew Benson

   BBC F1 correspondent

   

   Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images

   Red Bull’s Max Verstappen beat McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris in a tight battle for pole position at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.

   Verstappen was just 0.074 seconds quicker than Piastri, who pipped Norris by 0.017secs with the final lap of the session.

   Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was fourth, 0.224secs behind Verstappen, but 0.263secs quicker than team-mate Carlos Sainz who is right behind him.

   Mercedes’ George Russell took sixth ahead of RB’s Yuki Tsunoda and the second Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton.

   Read the full report here

2. Posted at 15:45 18 May15:45 18 May

   Back on Sunday at 13:00 BST

   

   PA MediaCopyright: PA Media

   There seems to be no stopping Max Verstappen on a Saturday in 2024. The three-time world champion will take his place at the head of the field for the 39th time in his Formula 1 career.

   Time for us all to get out in the sunshine and soak up the last of the day's vitamin D.

   Come back here refreshed at 13:00 BST tomorrow for build-up to the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.

   Live commentary will be available on BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Sounds.

   Enjoy the rest of your Saturday!

3. Posted at 15:44 18 May15:44 18 May

   Listen: Chequered Flag Imola preview

   

   BBCCopyright: BBC

   The team will be back tonight with a qualifying review, but you can listen to the Chequered Flag podcast Imola preview right now.

   Jennie Gow, former F1 driver Jolyon Palmer and BBC F1 correspondent Andrew Benson discuss whether Lando Norris challenge Max Verstappen for race victory again, the future of Adrian Newey, Alex Albon’s new Williams contract and Kevin Magnussen’s mounting penalty points tally.

   Listen in here.

4. Posted at 15:42 18 May15:42 18 May

   F1 Q&A: Sends us your questions

   Whatever the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix throws up, you can get your questions in to our F1 correspondent Andrew Benson to answer.

   Any thoughts or feelings after qualifying, type them down using this link here.

   

   BBC SportCopyright: BBC Sport

5. Posted at 15:39 18 May15:39 18 May

   Supreme slipstream

   Max Verstappen needs to buy Nico Hulkenberg a pint after qualifying, as the Red Bull driver received an almighty tow from the Haas in the first sector on the way to securing his latest pole position.

   "We've been helping each other out this quali," Hulkenberg joked to Sky Sports. "He helped me out a few times in Q2 and I returned the favour."

   Meanwhile, Oscar Piastri and Kevin Magnussen are heading to the stewards soon to discuss their impeding incident from Q1.

6. Posted at 15:36 18 May15:36 18 May

   'For us as a team we’ve had a very good day and weekend so far' - Norris

   Lando Norris finished third behind his McLaren team-mate, hesaid: “P3 is not a bad job at all and within a tenth both of us to P1 so tinytiny margins, but for us as a team we’ve had a very good day and weekend so far.

   “Oscar has done a great job and so did Max, it’s exciting, itwas close and I’m excited for tomorrow.”

   On tomorrow’s race, he added: “To be ahead of the Ferrari isalso a nice result for us, but it’s going to be close and it’s going to be agood race tomorrow. Hopefully it’s going to be an exciting one to watch, andhopefully an exciting one in the car.

   “But it’s tough especially when the lap times are so tight,a lot of it is down to Turn One, Lap One, the strategy, the pit-stops, so it’sgoing to be a tough race.”

7. Posted at 15:33 18 May15:33 18 May

   'Our confidence is high' - Piastri

   Oscar Piastri, who will start tomorrow's race in P2 said: "It was pretty good, a little bit of a scruffy last corner, but here it’s so, so difficult to do a perfect lap.

   "I’ve been really comfortable with the car the moment we put it on track yesterday. We were so, so close to pole, but very happy. It’s been a while since I’ve been up here."

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   Piastri on McLaren's improved performance: "We’ve been on the pace all weekend, you can never count out Max and Red Bull. I think our confidence is high. It's not the easiest track to overtake on, but the confidence is high that we can do something good."

8. Posted at 15:29 18 May15:29 18 May

   'Very pleased to get pole here and in a way it’s a nice memory to him' - Verstappen

   Max Verstappen has now matched Ayrton Senna's record of eight consecutive pole positions which Senna set across the 1988 and '89 seasons.

   Verstappen said: “It’s a great start to the year but also very special 30 years since he passed away at this track.

   "Of course, 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 as well, so a great day for me and a great day for the team, I’m very very happy.”

9. Posted at 15:26 18 May15:26 18 May

   'I’m still pumping, the adrenaline is very very high' - Verstappen

   Red Bull's Max Verstappen, who will start in pole tomorrow,said afterwards: “It was a really difficult [lap], the weekend so far and eventhis morning. I’m incredibly happy to be on pole here. I didn’t expect that, butwe made some final changes before qualifying, it seemed to make it feel a bitbetter and I could push a bit harder.

   “This track is unbelievable for a qualifying lap to be onthe limit, being this close to the gravel, I touched the gravel in the lastcorner, I’m still pumping, the adrenaline is very very high.”

10. Posted at 15:23 18 May15:23 18 May

    'Verstappen put the maximum into that one'

    

    Ben Edwards

    F1 commentator on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

    Max Verstappen sounded really excited and he put his absolute maximum into that one - and it worked perfectly to take pole. It wasn't as easy as the other poles this season but he's done it again. Well done to him.

11. Posted at 15:20 18 May15:20 18 May

    Verstappen ties with Senna

    

    Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images

    A special lap on a poignant weekend.

    An eighth pole position in a row for Max Verstappen at Imola today draws the Dutchman level with three-time world champion Ayrton Senna for the record of most consecutive poles in Formula 1.

    

    Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images

12. Posted at 15:16 18 May15:16 18 May

    And the rest

    11. Sergio Perez (Red Bull)

    12. Esteban Ocon (Alpine)

    13. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)

    14. Alex Albon (Williams)

    15. Pierre Gasly (Alpine)

    16. Valtteri Bottas (Sauber)

    17. Logan Sargeant (Williams)

    18. Zhou Guanyu (Sauber)

    19. Kevin Magnussen (Haas)

    20. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)

13. Posted at 15:13 18 May15:13 18 May

    Top 10

    1, Max Verstappen (Red Bull) - 1:14.746

    2. Oscar Piastri (McLaren)

    3. Lando Norris (McLaren)

    4. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)

    5. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari)

    6. George Russell (Mercedes)

    7. Yuki Tsunoda (RB)

    8. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)

    9. Daniel Ricciardo (RB)

    10. Nico Hulkenberg (Haas)

14. Posted at 15:10 18 May15:10 18 May

    Team radio: Piastri

    "Cool. Well done everyone."

15. Posted at 15:08 18 May15:08 18 May

    Post update

    

    Alice Powell

    British racing driver on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

    They [Red Bull] weren't expecting to be on pole position, Ferrari, I don't know what has gone on there but they were looking so dominant in the first few practice sessions.

16. Posted at 15:06 18 May15:06 18 May

    Team radio: Verstappen to Red Bull

    "Yes, let's go! That's a really good pole position. What a difficult start, but we turned it around. Thank you everyone."

17. Posted at 15:04 18 May15:04 18 May

    Post update

    Max Verstappen will share the front row with Oscar Piastri, as it was the Australian who got his McLaren closest to the reigning world champion. Lando Norris finishes qualifying in third.

    What happened to the Ferraris? Charles Leclerc will line up fourth and Carlos Sainz will take his place in fifth.

18. Posted at 15:03 18 May15:03 18 May

    Chequered flag

    Max Verstappen is unstoppable on a Saturday.

    The Red Bull driver will start on pole position for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.

19. Posted at 15:02 18 May15:02 18 May

    Post update

    

    Ben Edwards

    F1 commentator on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

    He [Verstappen] is so supreme when it counts, he is the fastest in the first and middle sectors so far.

20. Posted at 15:01 18 May15:01 18 May

    Post update

    Max Verstappen is on provisional pole with a new time of 1:14.746. Lando Norris tries his best but his last flying run is 0.074 seconds off the three-time world champion.

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