Emilia Romagna Grand Prix Qualifying: Verstappen takes eighth successive pole, seventh of the season

Red Bull's Max Verstappen found speed when it counted, matching Ayrton Senna's record of eight consecutive pole positions in qualifying for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix in Imola on Saturday.

McLaren's Oscar Piastri finished second in the session but received a three-place grid penalty for impeding, dropping him to fifth and promoting teammate Lando Norris to the front row.

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz moved up to third and fourth place at the Italian team's home track.

"Incredibly happy to be on pole here. I didn't expect that," said Verstappen, who came close to the gravel on his final lap with the adrenaline pumping.

Senna's record was set in 1988-89 with McLaren, and Verstappen, a triple world champion like the late Brazilian, began his run in Abu Dhabi at the end of last season and has dominated qualifying in 2024.

Verstappen's 39th career pole comes as Formula One commemorates the 30th anniversary of Senna's death in a crash at the Italian circuit on May 1, 1994.

"It's a great start to the year and very special," said the Dutch driver, who also matched Alain Prost's record 1993 seven successive poles at the start of a season.

"It's 30 years since he (Senna) passed away, so very pleased to get pole and in a way it's a nice memory to him. He was an incredible F1 driver, especially in qualifying," added Verstappen.

The champion's fastest lap of one minute 14.746 seconds was 0.074 faster than Piastri's, and it came after he struggled through all three free practice sessions.

Ferrari had dominated on Friday, and Piastri, who was 0.017 seconds faster than Norris in qualifying, had led a McLaren one-two earlier on Saturday.

The stewards determined that Piastri had unnecessarily impeded Haas' Kevin Magnussen during the first phase of qualifying.

Mercedes' George Russell will start sixth, with RB's Yuki Tsunoda starting seventh for the Faenza-based Red Bull-owned team's home race.

Lewis Hamilton, the seven-time world champion, is eighth for Mercedes, Daniel Ricciardo is ninth for RB, and Haas' Nico Hulkenberg rounds out the top ten after giving Verstappen an aerodynamic tow in the final phase.

Verstappen's Mexican teammate Sergio Perez, Verstappen's closest competitor but 33 points behind, crashed during practice and will start 11th.

Aston Martin won the race to repair Fernando Alonso's car in time for the session after the Spaniard crashed in final practice, but the double world champion struggled and qualified 19th.

Williams' Logan Sargeant, whose job appears to be in jeopardy, will start last.

SportsLigue