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Max Verstappen produced one of his best laps of the season to take pole position at the Imola Grand Prix qualifying session on Saturday (May 18). The three-time world champion was on the backfoot heading into the all-important qualifying session as he had struggled throughout the three practice sessions to get the hang of his RB20.
The Red Bull driver delivered when it mattered as he took the pole position just ahead of McLaren driver Oscar Piastri by 0.074 seconds. The Aussie, however, will start the race in P5 after getting a three-place penalty for blocking Kevin Magnussen's fast lap in Q1.
Below is the starting lineup for the Imola Grand Prix:
1. Max Verstappen, Red Bull
2. Lando Norris, McLaren
3. Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
4. Carlos Sainz, Ferrari
5. Oscar Piastri, McLaren
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6. George Russell, Mercedes
7. Yuki Tsunoda, RB
8. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
9. Daniel Ricciardo, RB
10. Nico Hulkenberg, Haas
11. Sergio Perez, Red Bull
12. Esteban Ocon, Alpine
13. Lance Stroll, Aston Martin
14. Alex Albon, Williams
15. Pierre Gasly, Alpine
16. Valtteri Bottas, Sauber
17. Zhou Guanyu, Sauber
18. Kevin Magnussen, Haas
19. Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin
20. Logan Sargeant, Williams
Lando Norris reveals his plans to beat Max Verstappen in Imola Grand Prix
McLaren driver Lando Norris has stated that it would be difficult to overtake Max Verstappen in the main race on Sunday given the characteristics of the Imola track.
Speaking in his post-qualifying press conference, the British driver said:
"I mean, it's almost impossible to overtake here, especially when the gaps are so small. Yeah, I mean, you always try and take advantage of other people's mistakes and struggles. As bad as it sounds, you try and take advantage of those times.
"I don't know, Max hasn't had the smoothest weekend, but I think if anyone doubted Red Bull or him coming back and doing a good job in qualifying, they're a bit stupid."
The British driver added that as a team they were happy with their performance thus far in the Imola Grand Prix, adding:
"So, yeah, I think we expected them to be back on track. Annoying to miss out to him once again in qualifying. But we're close and I think we're happy as a team with how we've all performed.
"So if we can continue and have a strong race pace tomorrow like we had yesterday and like we had in Miami, then I think we can all look forward to a good race."
Lando Norris would hope that he gets off the line cleanly in the main race against Max Verstappen and try to take the race lead as quickly as possible.
The McLaren had a superior race pace in the Friday practice sessions during the long runs as compared to the Red Bull, which might give them the advantage while employing different strategies in their bid to win the Imola Grand Prix.
