Valtteri Bottas has taken the first F1 pole in Imola for 14 years, edging out Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen. Pierre Gasly’s superb form continues, snatching 4th from Daniel Ricciardo.
Q1:
The battle for provisional pole was entertaining from the start. 1st place was occupied by Verstappen, Hamilton, Kvyat and Leclerc throughout the session. But, it was Bottas who won out eventually and the gaps were much smaller than expected. Multiple drivers had their lap times deleted, notably Albon and Bottas, who were both in the elimination zone with 3 minutes to go. Bottas would go a comfortable 2nd and later take provisional pole as Hamilton had his time deleted, while Albon went 7th. Raikkonen had made it in Q2, but another deleted lap time demoted him to 18th. Russell continued his ‘Mr Saturday’ role, taking his Williams through for the 8th time this year. The Ferrari powered cars suffered again with both Alfa Romeo and Haas drivers eliminated in Q1.
Eliminated:
- 16th Grosjean
- 17th Magnussen
- 18th Raikkonen
- 19th Latifi
- 20th Giovinazzi
Q2:
Verstappen reported power issues early on, while Alpha Tauri took a rare early 1-2. This would be soon superseded by the Mercedes. Red Bull’s woes continued as Albon almost spun into the wall. Both cars were in the elimination zone after their initial runs. As Leclerc put in the 4th best time of the session, Vettel could only go 12th and would later slip to 14th after a deleted lap time. This meant that he was outqualified by Russell for the second race in a row. Verstappen was put back out just in time for one flying lap and he comfortably put himself 6th while Albon stormed to 4th, behind the impressive Gasly. Stroll had provisionally made it through but a deleted lap time placed him 15th and his team-mate was also out in Q2. Finally, Ocon misjudged his time and missed a final flying lap, meanwhile his team-mate finished a superb 5th.
Eliminated:
- 11th Perez
- 12th Ocon
- 13th Russell
- 14th Vettel
- 15th Stroll
Q3:
Hamilton just edged Bottas provisionally, despite the Finn going fastest in the first 2 sectors. Verstappen, Gasly and Albon ignited a tense battle for 3rd, but Albon had his provisional time deleted. There was a familiar queue as the cars started their warm up laps, with Verstappen and the Mercedes at the very back. The final laps were tense as Hamilton and Bottas sparred, but Bottas won out with a stunning final lap time, 0.097 ahead of Hamilton. Verstappen collected his usual 3rd while Gasly impressed with 4th place and a 2nd row start for tomorrow. Ricciardo was a strong 5th ahead of Albon while Leclerc managed a solid 7th place. Kvyat came 8th ahead of the McLaren duo, Norris 9th Sainz 10th.
- Bottas
- Hamilton
- Verstappen
- Gasly
- Ricciardo
- Albon
- Leclerc
- Kvyat
- Norris
- Sainz
Bottas will be looking to make amends after losing out in Portimao. With pole position, he is one step of the way there. But Imola looks likely to deliver a stunning race tomorrow.
Featured Image Credit: @F1 Official Twitter
