F1 2020, Grand Prix of Emilia Romagna in Imola (11.10 p.m. AEDT) – Daniel Ricciardo will pursue his second F1 podium of the season on Sunday after completing his “best qualifying lap” of the year.
Renault’s Ricciardo will start the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix from fifth on the grid after a strong performance in qualifying on Saturday in Imola.
Mercedes closed the front row for the race – the first at Imola since 2006 – and Valtteri Bottas is starting from pole position ahead of Lewis Hamilton.
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Ricciardo starts from 5.
1:05
Hamilton is once again the runaway leader in this year’s drivers’ championship, but was dissatisfied with a “bad” lap in qualifying that gave Bottas the upper hand in the race.
Bottas is 77 points behind Hamilton in the championship and has only won once since the season opener in Austria, which turned out to be a false dawn for the Finn.
Asked about Bottas’ quality as a team-mate, Hamilton said his result on Saturday speaks for itself.
“I don’t really have to say much more,” said Hamilton. “I mean, Christ, he just got pole position. He is in front of me. I have more poles than anyone here so I’m not a slowpoke! “
Behind the duo, Red Bulls Max Verstappen starts in a familiar third place, while AlphaTauris Pierre Gasly qualified fourth fastest ahead of Ricciardo.
The race on Sunday is important to the sport – not least because it is the first to be held in a two-day event instead of the traditional three races.
This gives the teams little time to tweak the car’s settings and get the drivers used to the breathtaking Italian circuit near Bologna.
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Imola was once a staple of the F1 calendar and is best known for the infamous 1994 San Marino Grand Prix, in which Roland Ratzenberger and F1 icon Ayrton Senna died on consecutive days.
Even so, poor facilities and safety concerns resulted in the circuit being removed from the F1 calendar after the 2006 season.
Alfa Romeo veteran Kimi Raikkonen is the only current F1 driver to have participated in an F1 event in Imola.
The track has now been modernized and since F1 needs a euro-centered calendar due to the corona virus, it will host a Grand Prix on Sunday for the first time in 14 years.
DRIVER SLAMS ‘BULLS ** T’ TREND
Imola’s return has not been without its troubles as some drivers have voiced concerns about the surveillance of the route restrictions.
A full 68 laps were canceled between practice and qualifying, as the drivers crossed the white lines in turns 9 and 15.
Daniil Kvyat argued on Saturday that “old school gravel traps” should replace the drainage areas indicated by white lines.
“We don’t need those white lines,” he said. “We just need old school gravel traps and you go and you just go without all that ‘crossing the white line’ cops don’t cross ** t.
“It makes me pretty angry because it kills a lot of races. And it kills such a great track too. That’s the problem.”
In the meantime, Mercedes can complete its seventh consecutive constructors’ title at Imola and set an F1 record for the most consecutive wins. Red Bull has to beat Mercedes by 34 points so it can wait until Turkey to take the title.
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EMILIA-ROMAGNA GP QUALIFYING RESULT
1. Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes
2. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
3. Max Verstappen, Red Bull
4. Pierre Gasly, AlphaTauri
5. Daniel Ricciardo, Renault
6. Alex Albon, Red Bull
7. Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
8. Daniil Kvyat, AlphaTauri
9. Lando Norris, McLaren
10. Carlos Sainz, McLaren
11. Sergio Perez, race point
12. Esteban Ocon, Renault
13. George Russell, Williams
14. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari
15. Lance Stroll, Racing Point
16. Romain Grosjean, Haas
17. Kevin Magnussen, Haas
18. Kimi Raikkonen, Alfa Romeo
19. Nicholas Latifi, Williams
20. Antonio Giovinazzi, Alfa Romeo
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