Verstappen’s first triumph this season and Mercedes’s worst result since 2012

From the very beginning of the struggle for drivers, they had to deal with rainy conditions. Many drivers had problems with grip on a wet track during their first practice and often drove to the side of the road. The Monaco turned out to be the fastest in training and there were many indications that the driver would be the favorite to win the pole position. The closer to qualifying, the better the track conditions were, where drivers were able to run freely on a dry track.

The worst result for Mercedes since 2012. Verstappen ahead of Leclerc thanks to the red flag

Qualifying was interrupted several times by red flags, which were displayed by the judges after some of the competitors’ trips to the side of the road. In Q1 there was a fire near the car’s brakes, which forced drivers to miss their measuring laps. After this event, there was not much time to improve the results and additionally the track surface temperature was low. Already at the end of Q1, Mercedes had to tremble until the very end for the promotion to Q2. Lewis Hamilton finally made it to the second leg from 15th place, but he was only 0.004 seconds ahead.

The second part of qualifying started with a rush from all the teams as it was about to rain and the weather conditions would be getting worse. He was in such a hurry with his lap that he lost traction in the last corner of the track and crashed the car against the barrier. Despite this, the Spaniard had such a good time that he advanced to Q3. Both George Russell and, failed to qualify for Q3, the worst result since the 2012 and Japanese Grand Prix. Despite several new parts brought to Imola (including the diffuser), Mercedes can talk about a big disappointment.

In Q3, Kevin Magnussen fell off the track and the judges decided to announce a red flag. The driver braked in the gravel and did not touch the barrier, allowing him to return to the track on his own. After resuming the session, he recorded a great time. The Dutchman got it when he went off the track and the judges put up a yellow flag, but you can clearly hear in the recordings that Verstappen took his foot off the gas in this zone. After another resumption of the competition, Charles Leclerc tried to get a better time than the Red Bull driver, but was interrupted by Lando Norris’ trip to the gravel.

Thereby Max Verstappen took his first pole position this season, ahead of Charles Leclerc and. The Dutchman will start in first place for Saturday’s sprint. He recorded a great result, recording the fourth fastest time. The sprint will start on Saturday at 4.30pm and the race will start on Sunday at 3.00pm.