Sainz stumbles in Imola qualifying

The Autodromo Enzo y Dino Ferrari seemed like the ideal place for Carlos Sainz to achieve, at least, his first pole position in Formula 1. But the circumstances are not right for it and, this Friday, the man from Madrid failed. And there are two consecutive classifications in which he fails, something he will have to work on.

To his credit, it was an absolutely chaotic day. The rain that devastated the entire region gave a small truce, but not total peace, after the free practice sessions, which meant that the classification could be disputed with relative normality. It was not complete because there were several red flags due to the innumerable accidents that there were, starting with one caused by Alex Albon when the right rear brake caught fire. The Ferraris were the dominators and it seemed that they were going to take, either one or the other, the pole.

But in Q2, failing 10 minutes after two stoppages, Sainz missed. In the first Rivazza, the man from Madrid stepped on the wet piano and tumbled hopelessly until he crashed into the wall. With broken front suspension and a monumental anger, he retired to the pits. Sainz had at that time the fastest time, more than enough to go into Q3. No one can predict what would have happened in the final round, but no one doubts that he had the pace to fight for pole.

Verstappen, pole with mess

The fight for the best time was in the hands of two… and almost one. Charles Leclerc became the reference, but Max Verstappen did not give up at any time. Changing track conditions made it impossible to predict who would be the best time. The continuous interruptions in the form of a red flag due to paths off the track or accidents, the scares in the form of excursions or simply the difficulty in achieving a good lap as soon as the rain arrived marked the course of the session.

Proof of this last factor, what happened to the men of Mercedes. Sainz’s accident caused a red flag just as the rain started to get heavier. Those who had not posted a top ten lap at the time no longer improved, leaving out George Russell and Lewis Hamilton. “We are going backwards as a team,” the seven-time champion (and perhaps the next co-owner of Chelsea) harshly criticized after the session.

Thus, Q3 was reached in which, for the fourth consecutive race, Fernando Alonso was present. It had been eight years since the Spaniard had not chained such good results in some classifications, which is a good example that, despite everything, ‘El Plan’ is not going as bad as it seemed. Although the Spaniard never had options to fight for the best times, given that his teammate stayed in Q1 (despite having a new engine, the gearbox failed) and will start 19th, it is well worth the fifth final time that It will allow him to fight for a podium, at least in the sprint.

The fight for pole was framed by two red flags that were in Q3. The first was led by Kevin Magnussen outing against the wall and tap on ‘Acqua Minerale’ that masterfully able to recover reintegrating on track and back to the pits. The race director Niels Wittich, guilty of cautious because he would have been better to leave only the initial yellow flag. And this is where the controversy occurred. Verstappen stopped when they announced the yellow, just before the red, and although it was more than clear that he had slowed down, he improved his time and went 1. On paper, which made the champion of the world it was totally legal.

At the restart, Charles Leclerc hoped to recover the best time in the table and thus add a new pole, but he was left with the desire: Lando Norris went against the wall and caused a final red flag with which the classification ended. Thus, this Saturday’s grid will be led by the reigning champion, followed by the overall leader and by Norris himself. With Magnussen 4th, Alonso will try to show that he likes this weekend format and it suits him very well: how can he not aspire to a third place if he starts fifth?