FROM THE ENVIRONMENT TO IMOLA. Here’s the troublemaker. In Imola, drenched with rain and passion, there were 30,000 (150,000 expected over the weekend) waiting for a Ferrari pole 16 years after Michael Schumacher’s last. Red flags, like the five that blocked the session for as many times, making it almost eternal (1h 42 ‘): the last, due to an excursion by Lando Norris, denied Charles Leclerc the possibility of replying to Max Verstappen, at the first, well-deserved, pole of the season, his 14th in his career. In extreme and changing conditions, between dry and wet after the flood of the morning, the Dutch world champion proved his talent by putting everyone behind him. Leclerc, first of all, who after the domination in free practice had perhaps made the mouth to the third pole in four races, then the surprising Norris with the revived McLaren. «This is a fantastic track – says Verstappen -, because if you make a mistake he punishes you». Disappointed Leclerc, who complains with himself: «In Q3 I made the wrong choice – he said -, deciding to keep the tires for the end of the session, but then there were all the red flags. But the weekend is long and between tomorrow and Sunday we will try to put everything together ».
THE SPANISH ERROR
And the other Ferrari? For the second time in a row – after Australia – Carlos Sainz, freshly renewed, missed the call in the front rows. The Spaniard condemned himself to another comeback attempt with the crash out of the Rivazza, which ended with a lethal kiss to the external barriers. “I’m sorry, guys,” he exhaled over the radio. Tomorrow he will start 10th and he has to thank that the 21 of the Sprint are added to the 63 laps on Sunday, over 400 km to go upstream as much as possible. An undertaking within reach, given the qualities of the F1-75. «I don’t understand what exactly happened – said Carlos -, I simply lost the car but it is difficult to explain why I was not pushing to the limit in that lap. I just have to apologize to the team, it’s not the ideal way to start the weekend but at least there are Sprint and GP to catch up ».
HAMILTON PENSA AL CHELSEA
Further back, Mercedes confirmed the disastrous start to the season, photographed by the black eyes of team principal Toto Wolff, nervous when Lewis Hamilton got out of the car at Q2 still in progress: the rain had made further attempts useless. The classification – second place both among constructors and drivers, with George Russell – masks the performances for the moment, but the bluff is destined to last shortly, if the now former silver arrows continue like this: Hamilton has avoided for only 4 thousandths the second elimination of the season in Q1 after that of Jeddah. Detached by 1 “6 from Leclerc, he raised his hands exclaiming on the radio:” Crazy. “The seven-time world champion, resigned to a championship as a supporting actor, will still start only 13th – still behind Russell – and seems more concentrated on the possible purchase of Chelsea: he is ready to put 10 million pounds in the consortium led by Sir Martin Broughton, in which Serena Williams would also participate. “It’s a great opportunity,” he admitted.
Gp of Made in Italy and Emilia Romagna in Imola
THE STARTING GRID OF THE SPRINT RACE (tomorrow at 4.30 pm)
1 M. Verstappen (Red Bull, 1) 1’27″999
2 C. Leclerc (Ferrari, 16) 1’28″778
3 L. Norris (McLaren, 4) 1’29″131
4 K. Magnussen (Haas, 20) 1’29″164
5 F. Alonso (Alpine, 14) 1’29″202
6 D. Ricciardo (McLaren, 3) 1’29″742
7 S. Perez (Red Bull, 11) 1’29″808
8 V. Bottas (Alfa Romeo, 77) 1’30″439
9 S. Vettel (Aston Martin, 5) 1’31″062
10 C. Sainz (Ferrari, 55) timeless in Q3
11 G. Russell (Mercedes, 63) 1’20″757
12 M. Schumacher (Haas, 47) 1’20″916
13 L. Hamilton (Mercedes, 44) 1’21″138
14 G. Zhou (Alfa Romeo, 24) 1’21 “434
15 L. Stroll (Aston Martin, 18) 1’28″119
16 Y. Tsunoda (AlphaTauri, 22) 1’20 “474
17 P. Gasly (AlphaTauri, 10) 1’20″732
18 N. Latifi (Williams, 6) 1’21″971
19 E. Ocon (Alpine, 31) 1’22 “338
20 A. Albon (Williams, 23) timeless in Q1