Lewis Hamilton claims 99th career pole position at Imola
Reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton put in another excellent qualifying session to claim his 99th career pole position for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
Hamilton claims 99th career pole position
Hamilton will start on the front row alongside a Red Bull, but surprisingly it was Sergio Perez who went second fastest.
Max Verstappen qualified third but Red Bull will pose some threat in the race especially given that Hamilton’s teammate Valtteri Bottas is back in eighth.
Hamilton said that he is relishing the challenge from Red Bull.
The F1 World Champion said: “I love it, I love the challenge! We’ve got the two Red Bulls there, I think it’s definitely going to make strategy harder, and they’ve got great race pace.”
Verstappen was disappointed with his effort but hoped to make up for it on race day.
“Not so good in Q3 – a bit messy, not a good lap. Still, P3 is a good starting position,” Verstappen said.
“It’s gonna be interesting [in Sunday’s race]. We’ll try to make it difficult for [Mercedes].”
Perez surprised even himself with his pace but rued a final corner error that cost him pole.
“I never expected to be here today with where we were yesterday,” Perez said.
“I should have been on pole today, I made a mistake on the final corner. Tomorrow is what matters.”
Charles Leclerc wrestled his Ferrari into fourth and will start alongside the Alpha Tauri of Pierre Gasly who qualified fifth.
Mclaren’s Lando Norris had a quick lap chalked off for exceeding track limits in the final sector and he will start just behind teammate Daniel Ricciardo whom he joins on the third row.
FORMULA 1 PIRELLI GRAN PREMIO EMILIA ROMAGNA 2021 – QUALIFYING
| POS | NO | DRIVER | CAR | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | LAPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | MERCEDES | 1:14.823 | 1:14.817 | 1:14.411 | 23 |
| 2 | 11 | Sergio Perez | RED BULL RACING HONDA | 1:15.395 | 1:14.716 | 1:14.446 | 18 |
| 3 | 33 | Max Verstappen | RED BULL RACING HONDA | 1:15.109 | 1:14.884 | 1:14.498 | 20 |
| 4 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | FERRARI | 1:15.413 | 1:14.808 | 1:14.740 | 19 |
| 5 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | ALPHATAURI HONDA | 1:15.548 | 1:14.927 | 1:14.790 | 21 |
| 6 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | MCLAREN MERCEDES | 1:15.669 | 1:15.033 | 1:14.826 | 21 |
| 7 | 4 | Lando Norris | MCLAREN MERCEDES | 1:15.009 | 1:14.718 | 1:14.875 | 15 |
| 8 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | MERCEDES | 1:14.672 | 1:14.905 | 1:14.898 | 22 |
| 9 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | ALPINE RENAULT | 1:15.385 | 1:15.117 | 1:15.210 | 20 |
| 10 | 18 | Lance Stroll | ASTON MARTIN MERCEDES | 1:15.522 | 1:15.138 | 20 | |
| 11 | 55 | Carlos Sainz | FERRARI | 1:15.406 | 1:15.199 | 16 | |
| 12 | 63 | George Russell | WILLIAMS MERCEDES | 1:15.826 | 1:15.261 | 16 | |
| 13 | 5 | Sebastian Vettel | ASTON MARTIN MERCEDES | 1:15.459 | 1:15.394 | 14 | |
| 14 | 6 | Nicholas Latifi | WILLIAMS MERCEDES | 1:15.653 | 1:15.593 | 14 | |
| 15 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | ALPINE RENAULT | 1:15.832 | 1:15.593 | 14 | |
| 16 | 7 | Kimi Räikkönen | ALFA ROMEO RACING FERRARI | 1:15.974 | 10 | ||
| 17 | 99 | Antonio Giovinazzi | ALFA ROMEO RACING FERRARI | 1:16.122 | 9 | ||
| 18 | 47 | Mick Schumacher | HAAS FERRARI | 1:16.279 | 12 | ||
| 19 | 9 | Nikita Mazepin | HAAS FERRARI | 1:16.797 | 12 | ||
| RT | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | ALPHATAURI HONDA | 2 |
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