Imola and rain is a sure fire combination for absolute chaos, as we had a day full of action on Friday for the Sprint weekend. The circuit is seemingly treacherous when wet, and the gravel takes no prisoners, as should be the case at every track. Despite Ferrari seemingly having the pace all day, it was Verstappen who took pole for the Sprint tomorrow, partially due to Leclerc making a mistake on his second lap in Q3, which was when Max took pole, but the Red Bull was also really fast today. They did both try and do other runs in Q3, but multiple Red Flags put paid to that.
The pace of the two cars will likely be close, possibly slightly in the favour of Ferrari going off past form, but with Verstappen ahead it could be a recipe for a great weekend of racing. Max will really want to gain points on Charles if he wants to fight for this title, and Ferrari will want to win at home, so who knows what will happen! Their battle is more likely to play out in the actual race, where strategy is more of a factor.
With the chaos going on around them, Norris and Magnussen were able to make the most of the opportunity to be on the second row of the grid. I doubt that they have the pace to stay there, but especially for the Sprint, they could bag a whole lot of points. There was discussion about whether they should be penalised for causing Red Flags, which undoubtedly helped their cause. I think it is a fair rule to impose, to ensure no foul play, and we see it in a lot of other motorsports.
Alonso was another to take full advantage of the situation, although he will likely have a hard time holding off the Ferrari and Red Bull behind him. He did well to save a moment which almost left him in the gravel too. Ricciardo is building momentum after missing the second test, but he is yet to really get on terms with Lando, and needs to do that soon.
Perez was unlucky to make a slight mistake on his only representative lap in Q3, he had the pace to be on the second row. It will be fascinating to see how easy it is for him to make his way through the field with these new cars. Bottas had an unknown car issue in Q3, but they should be pleased with another top 10 in qualifying. It will be hard for him to hold on to points in the Sprint, with Sainz and the Mercedes behind, so the race should be his main focus. Vettel did an excellent job given his lack of track time all year, this just shows he still has it, despite what happened in Australia.
Moment of the day was when Sainz, on course to go comfortably first in Q2, backed it into the wall at the final corner. He said he was nowhere near the limit, but at the end of the day it happened, and will be gut wrenching for him. The fact he was on pace with Charles is a good sign, but was he pushing too much to do that? At least he will start in the top 10, and has more time to climb through the field.
This may have been an even worse qualifying than Saudi Arabia for Mercedes, as although Lewis was out in Q1 there, George showed their pace was in Q3. Here though, they just had nothing, and even if Q2 had been ‘normal’, I am not sure they would have made it. Their race pace should be better, but I am not sure if they will be able to climb up that far over the two races. Mick Schumacher made a mistake on his one lap in Q2, so missed out, otherwise his pace was pretty much with Magnussen, which is promising for him.
Zhou and Stroll just couldn’t put it together on that one lap either. AlphaTauri had a shocker so close to their factory, with neither car able to progress out of Q1. Ocon seemingly had an issue which kept him in the pitlane, and ruined his day. Williams had another brake issue on Albon’s car, which was spectacular but worrying at the same time. This is something they really need to get on top of.
This Sprint tomorrow could be a really telling factor, in how well these new regulations have worked, as there will probably be no strategy tomorrow, so passes will need to be done on pace. I am still not sold on the Sprint format, it was weird to see qualifying today, and I don’t think another mini race solves anything, apart from making more money for the F1 bosses. Wet or dry it should be a great two days of racing though!
-M
Meaning of Motorsport 