Provisional starting grid sprint race GP Emilia-Romagna | Verstappen ahead of Leclerc

Max Verstappen experienced a very strong qualifying session on Friday afternoon. The Dutchman set a convincing time in Q3 that Charles Leclerc was unable to surpass. Lando Norris finished in third place.

Prior to the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, it seemed to be a battle between Ferrari and Red Bull Racing. This proved to be the case as Verstappen and Leclerc battled for P1 together in qualifying. Where Leclerc was close to the fastest time, Verstappen still managed to improve that time.

Kevin Magnussen surprised positively by ending up in Q3 and eventually scoring the fourth-fastest time. Behind him ended up Fernando Alonso, Daniel Ricciardo, Sergio Perez, Valtteri Bottas, Sebastian Vettel and Carlos Sainz respectively.

For Mercedes, the weekend started dramatically. The German racing stable did not manage to reach Q3. With an eleventh place for George Russell and thirteenth position for Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes knows that there is still a lot of work to do. Pierre Gasly also disappointed with a seventeenth final time.