Qualifying report and highlights of the 2024 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix: Verstappen takes pole position at Imola ahead of Piastri and Norris

Piastri moved to the top of the timesheet as Q1 reached its halfway point, the Australian setting a lap of 1’15”940 to move seven hundredths ahead of Verstappen in P2. Shortly after, he was replaced by McLaren teammate Norris as times continued to drop.

Alonso got a scare when the Spaniard ran alongside and then took a trip into the gravel, endangering his chances of getting out of the elimination zone. Elsewhere, Albon improved to 12th to move out of danger, while others were also busy trying to avoid the drop zone.

Among them was Hülkenberg, who impressively moved to the top of the timesheet in the Haas, although Verstappen quickly took the P1 spot. Ricciardo also moved higher up the field, and Hamilton narrowly managed to qualify in P15.

Kick Sauber’s Bottas and Zhou were not so lucky, finishing the session in P16 and P17 respectively. Magnussen was unable to match his teammate Hülkenberg’s success and found himself in 18th position, with the Dane expressing his displeasure with Piastri, seemingly hampering his flying lap. The incident will be investigated after the session.

The biggest shock came from Alonso, who pitted in the final moments, putting him in P20 before being promoted to P19 when Sargeant had a lap time taken away, bringing the American in last place.

Eliminated: Bottas, Zhou, Magnussen, Alonso, Sargeant