Lewis Hamilton did the job when it mattered in a brilliant Emilia Romagna Grand Prix qualifier, beating Sergio Perez of Red Bull by just 0.036 seconds on Imola, with Max Verstappen within a tenth of a second of the third place.
There was nothing to choose between Mercedes and Red Bull who would go to the second qualifying session of the 2021 campaign, and both teams said the other was one of the favorites for P1 and hurt their own chances.
It was initially Valtteri Bottas who looked the most comfortable on a track where he last dominated all three segments of the one-hour heat at Imola, but he did not deliver in the third quarter as his world champion- teammate has risen. the top of the stack with a dazzling first round in qualifying.
The seven-time world champion could not improve his second run, and that pole looked threatened when Lando Norris had a purple first sector and then a purple second to at least a front row in his grip. But he lost time in the final sector, and although he finished second, his time was removed because the track boundaries were exceeded.
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1 Lewis Hamilton HAM Mercedes |
1: 14.411 |
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2 Sergio Peres PER Red Bull Racing |
1: 14.446 |
|
3 Max Stepping FAR Red Bull Racing |
1: 14.498 |
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4 Charles Leclerc LEC Ferrari |
1: 14.740 |
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5 Pierre Gasly GAS AlphaTauri |
1: 14.790 |
This enabled Sergio Perez, who was getting faster and faster, to claim a dazzling second place, thus securing his first ever front row in his 193rd Grand Prix series. His Red Bull teammate Max Verstappen was left out of the team by Daniel Ricciardo for the first time since the end of 2018, third qualified by a teammate (without any penalties / red flag).
Ferrari, who brought a new floor to Imola earlier than planned, showed impressive pace with one lap all weekend, with Charles Leclerc reaching the potential with an impressive fourth, and beating Pierre Gasly of AlphaTauri to the position for the second consecutive race.
Daniel Ricciardo seemed to be struggling through practice, and he looked slower from the two McLarens throughout qualifying, but finished higher on the track with sixth place, with Norris’ second-best lap just good enough for seventh.
Last year’s policeman Bottas was a disappointing eighth and finished outside the top seven for the second time in the last six races, with Esteban Ocon leading Alpine in the ninth – after being knocked out in Q1 in Bahrain – and Lance Stroll it closed. the top 10 for Aston Martin.
Qualifying Highlights: 2021 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix
AS IT HAPPENED
Q1 – Tsunoda collides when Williams gets both cars in Q2
AlphaTauri looked in good shape early in the Emilia Romagna weekend, but their team boss, Franz Tost, was left with his head in his hands on the pit wall when rookie Yuki Tsunoda did everything wrong at the Variante Alta and climbed into the barrier , and brought to the fore. the red flag.
The Japanese driver escaped unharmed, but the back of his AT02 was damaged, meaning he will start last Sunday afternoon or from the pit lane. His teammate, Pierre Gasly, put the pressure on himself when he wiped out his first lap time for exceeding the track limits, once the session was up and running again, but then dropped with the next lap to the second quarter.
READ MORE: Tsunoda apologizes for ‘big mistake’ after crashing in Imola in the first minutes of qualifying
Mercedes was the class off the field, with Bottas – who was the fastest in the first and second quarters before stealing at Imola last year – being the fastest of the two, with Lando Norris a very impressive third ahead of Max Verstappen, Red Bull. Elsewhere, Williams won both cars for the first time since last year’s Hungarian Grand Prix in the second quarter, with Nicholas Latifi bouncing back from his crash in Saturday morning’s practice to sneak George Russell in as well.
There was bad news for Alfa Romeo, with both cars getting the trunk doors early. Antonio Giovinazzi was furious at traffic for failing to improve his final run, and he started in 17th place, behind teammate Kimi Raikkonen but ahead of the Haas duo of Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin.
Eliminated: Raikkonen, Giovinazzi, Schumacher, Mazepin, Tsunoda
Q2 – Perez and Norris set the pace while Sainz and Alonso struggle
The Mercedes pair and Max Verstappen’s Red Bull were so confident of their pace that they were the only ones to run the media in the second quarter in an attempt to start the race on the link, meaning they not the top of the grids.
Instead, it was Norris who impressed again after a strong Q1 outing, and initially went the fastest before being grabbed by only 0.002s by Perez – also on softs.
Ferrari looked fast in one lap, with Charles Leclerc being the fastest in third place, and his teammate Carlos Sainz would join him, only to attack the curb too aggressively at the chicane, which cost him heavily and meant that he has not progressed. , ending the session 11th.
George Russell was a very impressive 12th, just a tenth of the third quarter, with Sebastian Vettel having another difficult session. His time had to be removed first for exceeding the track limits, and he could not get it back together when it was important on his next run to extend his run. missing Q3 to 15 Grands Prix.
Latifi was three-tenths of Russell’s in the best 14th career, with Fernando Alonso qualifying for the first time since the 2017 Malaysia Grand Prix by a teammate.
Eliminated: Sainz, Russell, Vettel, Latifi, Alonso
Q3 – Sad for Norris while Hamilton delivers again
Hamilton set an impressive benchmark with his first salvo in the third quarter, with Verstappen and Perez just behind and Norris confirming McLaren’s strong potential with a fourth.
The Briton could not improve next time and opened the door for an attack from elsewhere. Perez flew – and it seemed too close to give the Mexican only a second place, and his teammate Verstappen also shot just too short.
There were celebrations in the McLaren garage when Norris crossed the line for the second time, only for his time to then be removed for a violation of the track and dropped to seventh place.
It was the closest qualifying session in years, with the top eight all reaching 1m14 times and separated by just half a second, with seven different manufacturers in the top 10.
The most important quote
“The day was wonderful, of course,” Hamilton said. “I certainly did not expect us to be ahead of the two Red Bulls. They were so fast this weekend.
“There were times when they were six tenths ahead and we did not really know where we would be. But the car felt much better from the start over the weekend. Much respect to the team for the hard work to really narrow down. in the window mode. ”
What’s next?
The Emilia Romagna Grand Prix starts at 1500 local time, that is 1200 UTC. Hamilton quite possibly has the best starting position, but he fights to keep the pole with two hungry Red Bulls behind and his teammate Bottas in eighth place.