Formula 1

The day has already started well for the Tifosi with a Ferrari one-two led by Leclerc in first practice. Max Verstappen and Red Bull are out to end ...

It was very slippery. It is worth noting we have now matched the 2016 Hungarian Grand Prix and 2021 Azerbaijan Grand Prix for most red flags in an F1 qualifying session. “It was tricky out there. Thanks for joining us and we will be back tomorrow for a live blog of the second practice session and the sprint race which will decide Sunday’s grid. A record-breaking five red flags were flown on Friday with the Mercedes duo of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell, who are performing surprisingly well in the standings, out in Q2. A very damp Imola welcomed Formula One today for a bonkers qualifying session ahead of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.

Live coverage of Friday's Formula 1 qualifying session for the 2022 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Imola in Italy.

Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen will start Saturday's Emilia Romagna Grand Prix sprint event on pole position after an incident-packed qualifying at Imola ...

Verstappen then grabbed the top spot with 1m27.999s, 0.779s faster than Leclerc, despite being forced to lift off for Valtteri Bottas stopping in the final sector ahead of him, which caused another red flag. Rain fell during the break, meaning there would be no further improvements. Time The session began on a slightly damp but quickly drying track. Time The result of Saturday’s sprint race sets the grid for Sunday’s main event.

Championship leader Charles Leclerc took the second spot on the grid for the sprint race, ahead of Lando Norris in third and Kevin Magnussen in fourth.

Lewis Hamilton said his Mercedes was driving "like a rattlesnake" but the Briton tamed his car on Saturday to qualify fifth for the Australian Grand Prix in a much-improved performance. His was not the last red flag, however, as in the finale to the day's action, Norris slipped off into a wall to trigger the final red flag of the day. However, both seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton and George Russell failed to make the cut to the top-ten shootout as their Mercedes team failed to progress for the first time in a decade. Lando Norris was third for McLaren ahead of Kevin Magnussen of Haas, Fernando Alonso of Alpine and Daniel Ricciardo, who was sixth in the second McLaren. Championship leader Charles Leclerc took the second spot on the grid for the sprint race, ahead of Lando Norris in third and Kevin Magnussen in fourth. The 24-year-old Dutchman drove his Red Bull with care and aplomb to avoid problems on a day of frequent crashes and five red flags that left Ferrari's championship leader frustrated.

With a freshly-inked Ferrari contract in his pocket, Carlos Sainz may have dreamed of taking his first ever F1 pole position in front of the tifosi on ...

“At least thinking positively, I will have Sprint quali and the race to recover,” said Sainz. “As a target, [I want] to move forward, try and rescue some solid points. I didn’t have any warning that I was going to lose it and it just went. “It was not a lap that was properly on the limit at all, it was a lap that was okay just to put a banker in without putting it on the limit, and unfortunately I lost it, the car, for some reason.

Franco Colapinto converted pole position into his and Van Amersfoort Racing's maiden FIA Formula 3 victory during a frantic Sprint Race at Imola.

Roman Stanek was a beneficiary of the late drama to move into fourth place, ahead of Hadjar, who was able to keep going through the gravel after his collision with Collet. The Alpine-backed youngster was involved in a collision with fast-charging Red Bull junior Isack Hadjar on the approach to the first chicane and was pitched into the gravel. Collet, who led for much of the race after passing pole man Colapinto on the fourth lap, left empty-handed after he was involved in a clash mere seconds after losing top spot.

(REUTERS) - Formula One world championship leader Charles Leclerc lapped fastest as Ferrari finished one-two in a wet first practice for their home Emilia ...

"Certainly when you see your car pounding around five seconds off the pace, you want to strangle yourself. Imola is the first European race of the season and also the first of three in the sprint format, with qualifying later on Friday to decide the starting grid for a 100km race on Saturday that establishes the order for Sunday's main event. The 24-year-old Monegasque lapped Imola's Enzo and Dino Ferrari circuit in a fastest time of 1min 29.402sec on intermediate tyres, with Spanish teammate Carlos Sainz 0.877sec slower.

Max Verstappen took pole position for Red Bull in a nailbiting qualifying session ahead of the inaugural F1 Sprint of 2022 at Imola.

It was very slippery to get the tyre temps to work. Vettel sealed Aston Martin's first Q3 appearance of 2022 in P8 (and emerged for a late intermediate run alongside Leclerc), Ricciardo and Bottas rounding out the top 10. Verstappen then improved to a 1m 27.999s, just after Bottas crashed to bring out a red flag going into Turn 16. “It was tricky out there with the rain… The rain then returned to ensure a damp finish to Friday evening. It was a hectic, long qualifying but of course at the end happy to be here. Dry line now clear, Lance Stroll set the first benchmark for Aston Martin – before the session was red flagged with 12 minutes remaining, Albon’s right-rear brake up in flames and spreading red-hot debris in its wake. Verstappen led Leclerc out but, given how difficult their out-laps seemed, it was clear that neither driver would improve. Nearly eight-tenths off, Leclerc had one last chance to pry provisional pole away from the reigning champion but was left second and 0.799s off after the red flag. The Spaniard went second, 0.197s off then-leader Verstappen, but spun and crashed going into the final left-hander. The umbrellas soon unfurled, and those drivers’ fates were essentially sealed. Tsunoda’s team mate Gasly could only take P17, making it an early elimination for both of AlphaTauri's drivers at their home circuit.

Carlos Sainz felt he wasn't pushing hard prior to his Imola Formula 1 qualifying crash which he fears will cost him “quite a lot” through the rest of the ...

The car surprised me in that corner, [and] I missed it. Sainz acknowledged the damage on his car “looked bad” after the shunt and that it was “not going to be easy for the guys tonight” to get the repairs completed. Sainz explained that he was surprised to lose the car in the fashion that he did, but took full blame for the mistake.

Unlucky twist left Ricciardo 'hurt'; full extent of Mercedes nightmare — F1 Qualifying Analysis.

Norris credited a second straight strong qualifying session to the climatic conditions rather than the car, and on one level that makes sense. It’s much more difficult to pass at Imola compared to Interlagos, however, and that will be particularly true if the track is in any way damp to make deviating from the racing line treacherous. Haas will be the team’s chief rival, with Kevin Magnussen taking a sensational fourth. The car doesn’t like big braking zones, and the reduction in speed in the wet effectively took the bite out of the biggest stops around the track. With the improvements on the second lap, I really feel I could be significantly further up, but that’s alright.” Russell’s car was porpoising so badly during that hour that the floor stays, designed to help with the problem, snapped. Carlos Sainz re-signed with Ferrari during the week, but the Spaniard couldn’t convert that confidence into a qualifying result, crashing out of Q2 in what he described as surprising snap from the car at the end of a lap on which he wasn’t pushing particularly hard. To date sprint races have needed a focal point, and two cars starting out of position will be key excitement generators. If Verstappen can hold position off pole, even the Ferrari’s car superior corner-exit traction may not be enough for Leclerc to overcome him in the sprint, which doesn’t feature pit stop strategy to shake up the order. Things were only marginally better for Sergio Perez in the second Red Bull Racing car. A dry track combined with frequent bursts of rain made the session challenging for drivers. In wet practice everything was coming up Ferrari, with the red cars more almost 1.5 seconds quicker than anyone else.

Ferrari Team Principal Mattia Binotto has revealed why he was so keen to lock down the future of Carlos Sainz, saying that offering the Spanish driver a ...

But he will do it very quickly because I know how smart and how capable he is to manage the pressure.” “I don't think that there are issues,” said Binotto. “Certainly he needs to adapt. “We know that our drivers are confirmed until the end of 2024 and we can build on it.

Ferrari looks to continue its hot start in their home country. Here's how to watch this weekend's F1 race.

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Zhou Guanyu's first experience of the F1 Sprint format lasted just nine corners of the Imola circuit, as the Chinese driver got caught up with the ...

LIVE COVERAGE: Follow all the action from the F1 Sprint in Emilia Romagna Zhou Guanyu’s first experience of the F1 Sprint format lasted just nine corners of the Imola circuit, as the Chinese driver got caught up with the AlphaTauri of Pierre Gasly, with Zhou’s Alfa Romeo spat into the barriers. WATCH: Zhou crashes out at start of Sprint in Emilia Romagna

Red Bull's Max Verstappen won the Formula 1 sprint event to take pole position for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix after a fantastic duel with Ferrari's ...

Leclerc led Verstappen and Norris at the restart on Lap 5. Going into the final five laps, Verstappen got into Leclerc’s DRS range as the Ferrari began get encounter some tyre graining. 2022 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix sprint fastest laps

World champion will start P1 on Sunday and claimed championship eight points, while Lewis Hamilton struggled with his Mercedes and will begin in 14th.

With the victory Verstappen has secured pole for Sunday a potentially vital achievement at Imola where overtaking is difficult. It was a bravura move, perfectly executed and the sort of racing the sprint race has long needed. He was third several laps later, an impressive run and vital for Red Bull so he can play his part in the race tomorrow. Max Verstappen won the sprint race for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Imola and in doing so secured pole for Sunday’s race. Out front however while Leclerc was in control, Verstappen closed in the final four laps to within a second. Both Hamilton and Russell struggled to make any headway through the field, unsurprisingly with a tricky can on a track where overtaking is far from easy.

Max Verstappen won the first Sprint of 2022 having passed Charles Leclerc with two laps remaining, to ensure a first-place start for Sunday's Emilia Romagna ...

The championship leader skated away, Verstappen in tow. Green-flag racing would resume on Lap 5, Leclerc leading Verstappen then Norris at the time. Friday's wet qualifying session set the grid for this Sprint, Verstappen having taken pole position over Leclerc with Lando Norris leading Kevin Magnussen off the second row. Gearbox issues put Esteban Ocon 19th for the start of the Sprint and he made up three places for P16 in the Alpine, keeping Gasly – who collided with Zhou at the start and pitted for a nose change – 17th. Magnussen held on for the final point, finishing ahead of Alpine's Fernando Alonso in P9 – who started fifth but couldn't contend with his rivals' pace on the softs – and the other Haas of Mick Schumacher, who took P10 on mediums. It was Leclerc, to a rapturous reception from the tifosi, who took the lead off Verstappen as the lights went out – only for the Safety Car to interrupt proceedings as Zhou Guanyu (DNF) and Pierre Gasly (P19) made contact through Turn 9 on Lap 1.

Lewis Hamilton has compared his Mercedes W13 with the 2009 McLaren MP4-24, the Formula 1 car he regards as the worst he has ever experienced.

"And unfortunately, we got on track and we didn't see that... And we got there." "But I didn't have the experience at the time. "The new rules said that we would have 50% less downforce in 2009, so they designed the car to have 50%, less downforce! And I have the utmost faith that my team can do that here too." "And I can assure you I have.

Red Bull's Max Verstappen overthrew Charles Leclerc late on to win the first sprint race of the 2022 Formula 1 season at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.

And Perez kept putting the slipstream out of the final corner for the run into the chicane to good use as he then copied the manoeuvre on Norris with the help of DRS to climb to third. That brought Verstappen close out of Rivazza and gave him the slipstream, which combined with DRS, allowed him to make his move around the outside into Tamburello. Leclerc gave his rival space at the first apex, and Verstappen kept within the painted lines to make the move stick before romping to a 1.5s lead before sealing the win by 2.9s. Leclerc had not made an error, as Verstappen brought the gap below a second and then used DRS and the slipstream out of the final corner to bring the difference down to half a second. Leclerc settled a little over the 1s threshold for three tours and then on lap seven, set what was at the time the fastest lap of the race to stretch his cushion to 1.5s over the RB18. With the aid of DRS and as his Ferrari rival battled oversteer, Verstappen dived around the outside into Tamburello and kept his car on track to take the win and pole for the full GP on Sunday. Leclerc had nailed his launch and with the kink on the main straight placing him on the inside, he could sprint past a wheel-spinning Verstappen to seize first into Tamburello.