Despite the pace shown during the leadup Free Practice sessions it was Max Verstappen who put his Red Bull RB20 on pole for the 8th consecutive time, tying Ayrton Senna in the process at the very track with the late 3-time World Champion lost his life 30 years ago. The wild final moment of Q3 saw Ferrari fail to improve after strong FP1 and FP2 sessions on Friday as McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris would take the second and third grid positions behind Verstappen.
***UPDATE: Oscar Piastri has been assessed a 3-place grid penalty for impeding the Haas of Kevin Magnussen and will start Sunday’s race in 5th Position. This promotes Lando Norris to 2nd, Charles LeClerc to 3rd, and Carlos Sainz to 4th***
Qualifying Highlights: 2024 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix
Q1 Results:
Fernando Alonso’s shock exit was the talk of Q1 as the Spaniard failed to put a competitive time on the sheets as Aston Martin mechanics scrambled to reassemble his car after an FP3 shunt. Initially last, he was promoted to 19th after Logan Sargeant had his lap time deleted for exceeding track limits.
Elsewhere, McLaren and Verstappen went to battle with Oscar Piastri setting the pace midway through the session before being bumped by teammate Lando Norris. Not to be outdone, Verstappen then laid down a lap 1.5 tenths clear of Norris as Charles LeClerc entered the fray to challenge for the top spot.
Drivers out in Q1:
- 16th: Valtteri Bottas (Kick Sauber)
- 17th: Zhou Guanyu (Kick Sauber)
- 18th: Kevin Magnussen (Haas)
- 19th: Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)
- 20th: Logan Sargeant (Williams)
Q2 Results:
Verstappen once again set the pace in Q2 as the rest of the field emerged to lay down times, but it was Sergio Perez who shocked them all as the Mexican driver failed to make Q1, a stark contrast compared to his teammate who held the top spot despite challenges from LeClerc and Yuki Tsunoda.
Further down the field, Mercedes struggled for pace and could only manage a bottom 5 position for the carryover into Q3, and in a surprise turn Daniel Ricciardo joined teammate Tsunoda in the top-10.
Drivers out in Q2:
- 11th: Sergio Perez (Red Bull)
- 12th: Esteban Ocon (Alpine)
- 13th: Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)
- 14th: Alex Albon (Williams)
- 15th:Pierre Gasly (Alpine)
Q3 Results:
Soft tires was the name of the game in Q3 as some teams opted for used instead of new, but it was again Verstappen who laid down the gauntlet and broke into the 1:14s times with a 1:14.869s lap ahead of Lando Norris, just 0.073s behind. Oscar Piastri then, on a flyer, seemed to have Verstappen beat until a slight bobble early in his lap hampered any progress.
As the field lulled mid-session, teams began to prep for the final run and drivers queued at the end of pit lane for the optimum time to strike. Verstappen further lowered his time on the second outing, dropping down to a 1:14.746s which proved to be unbeatable as Piastri and Norris slotted in behind the Dutchman. LeClerc and Sainz failed to improve and ended 4th and 5th as George Russell followed in 6th.
Yuki Tsunoda put his RB in 7th on the grid ahead of Lewis Hamilton, Daniel Ricciardo, and the Haas of Nico Hulkenberg.
Free Practice 1 Report: CLICK HERE
Free Practice 2 Report: CLICK HERE
Free Practice 2 Report: CLICK HERE
FORMULA 1 MSC CRUISES GRAN PREMIO DEL MADE IN ITALY E DELL’EMILIA-ROMAGNA 2024 Schedule
| Date | Session | Time (Local Circuit) |
| May 17th | Practice 1 | 13:30 – 14:30 |
| Practice 2 | 16:00 – 17:00 | |
| May 18th | Practice 3 | 12:30 – 13:30 |
| Qualifying | 16:00 – 17:00 | |
| May 19th | Race | 15:00 |
Qualifying Results:
| POS | NO | DRIVER | CAR | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | LAPS |
| 1 | 1 | Max Verstappen | RED BULL RACING HONDA RBPT | 1:15.762 | 1:15.176 | 1:14.746 | 18 |
| 2 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | MCLAREN MERCEDES | 1:15.940 | 1:15.407 | 1:14.820 | 15 |
| 3 | 4 | Lando Norris | MCLAREN MERCEDES | 1:15.915 | 1:15.371 | 1:14.837 | 19 |
| 4 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | FERRARI | 1:15.823 | 1:15.328 | 1:14.970 | 21 |
| 5 | 55 | Carlos Sainz | FERRARI | 1:16.015 | 1:15.512 | 1:15.233 | 20 |
| 6 | 63 | George Russell | MERCEDES | 1:16.107 | 1:15.671 | 1:15.234 | 18 |
| 7 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | RB HONDA RBPT | 1:15.894 | 1:15.358 | 1:15.465 | 15 |
| 8 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | MERCEDES | 1:16.604 | 1:15.677 | 1:15.504 | 20 |
| 9 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | RB HONDA RBPT | 1:16.060 | 1:15.691 | 1:15.674 | 15 |
| 10 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | HAAS FERRARI | 1:15.841 | 1:15.569 | 1:15.980 | 21 |
| 11 | 11 | Sergio Perez | RED BULL RACING HONDA RBPT | 1:16.404 | 1:15.706 | 10 | |
| 12 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | ALPINE RENAULT | 1:16.361 | 1:15.906 | 15 | |
| 13 | 18 | Lance Stroll | ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES | 1:16.458 | 1:15.992 | 15 | |
| 14 | 23 | Alexander Albon | WILLIAMS MERCEDES | 1:16.524 | 1:16.200 | 12 | |
| 15 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | ALPINE RENAULT | 1:16.015 | 1:16.381 | 14 | |
| 16 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | KICK SAUBER FERRARI | 1:16.626 | 6 | ||
| 17 | 24 | Zhou Guanyu | KICK SAUBER FERRARI | 1:16.834 | 9 | ||
| 18 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | HAAS FERRARI | 1:16.854 | 8 | ||
| 19 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES | 1:16.917 | 7 | ||
| NC | 2 | Logan Sargeant | WILLIAMS MERCEDES | DNF | 8 |
