Verstappen took pole, but Haas surprised in a rough qualifier: this is how the first sprint race of the year will be run

Formula One F1 - Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari, Imola, Italy - April 22, 2022 Red Bull's Max Verstappen in action during qualifying REUTERS/Massimo Pinca

Max Verstappen took pole position in qualifying for the first sprint race of 2022 in a qualifying round marked by the large number of events that led to different red flags that distorted the sessions. In this context, the Red Bull driver showed his courage and will be in first place in front of Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) and Lando Norris (McLaren), although the big surprise is the fourth place Kevin Magnussen signed with his Haas.

The sprint race will start at 11.30 (Argentina time) and, in addition to awarding points to the top eight, will allow the start grid to be ordered for Sunday's race. It will be the first round of this modality in 2022 after the premiere of the format last season. The next two will take place at the Australian GP during the second week of July and at the São Paulo GP for the penultimate calendar date in November.

Lewis Hamilton escaped in Q1 over the final, getting the time to place 15th and moving to the next phase just above the five eliminated in that first instance. The Briton avoided repeating what happened in Saudi Arabia, when he could not pass the initial stage of the qualifying and started 16th, something that had not happened to him since 2017. Previously, Alex Albon had had major problems with his Williams and left multiple parts scattered on the asphalt tape.

Carlos Sainz Jr. , when he had made the second fastest time averaging the second qualifying round, he got lost track and destroyed the front of his vehicle generating the red flag. The Ferrari man was deploying all his speed on the track, but he lost control and now the questions are focused on the mechanics of his car for Saturday's sprint.

The arrest was with dry asphalt and the resumption came amid a new rain that disrupted the plans of several, leaving Hamilton, George Russell and Mick Schumacher on the way, among others who wanted to improve their times. They did not go out directly to try to improve the times, something impossible with water.

Q3 was no exception to the red flags, with rain as the protagonist. Sainz Jr. was directly unable to leave the track due to the mechanical problems of his Ferrari and Valtteri Bottas could not finish the session, causing the phase to stop 3 minutes from the end. The restart was with another red flag because the one who quickly collided was Lando Norris and after 30 seconds everything was set with Verstappen as pole man.

QUALIFIERS FOR THE SPRINT

1- Max Verstappen (Red Bull)

2- Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)

3- Lando Norris (McLaren)

4- Kevin Magnussen (Haas)

5- Fernando Alonso (Alpine)

6- Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren)

7- Sergio Perez (Red Bull)

8- Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo)

9- Sebastian Vettel (Aston Martin)

10- Carlos Sainz Jr. (Ferrari)

11- George Russell (Mercedes)