Max Verstappen savours record-setting pole

Max Verstappen claimed yet another pole position at Imola ahead of Sunday’s Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.

Verstappen equalled Ayrton Senna’s record of eight consecutive poles and Alain Prost’s record of seven straight poles from the start of the season.

Meanwhile teammate Sergio Perez could only manage 11th on the grid.

Max Verstappen savours Imola pole

Verstappen said that evertyhing came together for his pole position.

“It was a really rewarding pole today and everything ended up coming together for qualifying,” Verstappen said in comments provided to the South African. 

“This weekend has been tough and we have been lacking pace and balance within the car, however we kept on working at it and trying to improve. When we went into qualifying, the balance of the car felt a lot better, so it was a great turnaround. 

“Honestly it is just a fantastic track and I wish we had more of those on the calendar. It felt unbelievable to drive a qualifying lap here; there are a few old school tracks that we have remaining on the calendar which are really exciting and what I fell in love with when I started watching and racing in Formula One. 

“McLaren is looking strong but with the changes that we made on the car, it should be better for the race tomorrow. I feel a little less prepared than I would like to be going into the race and we don’t expect it to be easy, but we are going to give it a good go. It is special and a proud moment to receive eight poles in a row, especially as we have been having a tough weekend. It was a whole team effort but we managed to bring it together today. Very happy!”

Horner praises team effort

Christian Horner, Red Bull team Principal praised the effort all-around.

“It was an outstanding Saturday here in Imola, especially after we struggled yesterday,” Horner said. 

“The team did a really good job overnight, with Seb Buemi, Jake Dennis and everyone in Milton Keynes working into the early hours on the simulator, and we kept improving the car as we saw the results of in Q3.

“Max had to deliver and he really pulled it out of the bag with a great performance, and you can tell how much it meant to him to be on pole today. That’s 8 poles in a row, equalling the great Ayrton Senna and doing it here in Imola making it all the more poignant.

“Checo wasn’t as fortunate and he lost a bit of time in the first and second chicanes which then put some pressure on the rest of his lap, he recovered some time but unfortunately it wasn’t quite enough and he narrowly missed Q3. All to play for tomorrow as we head into race day in Imola.”