Imola 2024: FP3 and Qualifying

Formula 1

May 18, 2024

Important news and updates:

It’s been 30 years since legendary driver Ayrton Senna died at the Imola Grand Prix.
Alex Albon has extended his contract with Williams until 2026.
Ferrari debuted new upgrade packages.
Aston Martin debuted new upgrade packages, focusing mainly on the rear end.
Red Bull added some upgrades to the front end, mainly the nose and wings.
Oscar Piastri received the full upgrade package that his teammate did in Miami.
Charles Leclerc has a new race engineer. It was Xavi Marcos, it is now Bryan Bozzi.
Many drivers, including Max Verstappen, Lando Norris, Lewis Hamilton, and Yuki Tsunoda, struggled with the track in the previous two free practice sessions.
Kevin Magnussen is 2 penalty points away from being banned from driving for a year.

Free Practice 3

Free practice started with the Ferraris showing great pace, followed closely by the newly upgraded McLarens. Throughout the weekend, both Red Bulls struggled with the many bumps the Imola track features. However, the Red Bulls were not the only team that struggled, as the Mercedes and Aston Martins also went off the track multiple times.

The misfortune of the Aston Martin team would continue when 2-time world champion and a man with 18 Formula 1 seasons under his belt, Fernando Alonso, drifted off the track and straight into the barrier. The Spaniard unfortunately slammed the newly upgraded rear end into the barrier. Once Fernando was confirmed to be okay, the accident left on-lookers with the questions, “Does the team have extra parts of the upgrades?”, “Will they have to revert to the old configuration if not?” and “Will they be able to fix the car for qualifying?”. A safety car was called while they moved Fernando’s vehicle and cleaned the debris.

The green flag was given with 27 minutes left of the final practice session. Many teams stayed in the garage, either strategically or for data purposes. The Red Bulls, McLarens, and Ferraris stayed out and tried to gather as much information from the track, tires, car, etc., as possible.

Similarly to Aston Martin, Red Bull would also have a bout of misfortune when Sergio Perez slammed the front end of his RB20 into the barrier. The accident raised the same questions about the upgrades as Fernando Alonso’s accident. A green was given with only 2 minutes left on the clock for FP3.

Results of FP3

Oscar Piastri
Lando Norris
Carlos Sainz
Charles Leclerc
George Russell

Qualifying

For qualifying, both Sergio Perez's and Fernando Alonso’s teams were able to keep the car in working order, and it seems that both teams had spare parts for the upgrades.

After the practice sessions, many struggling drivers seemed much more dialed in by Qualis, such as Max Verstappen. Max quickly set the time to beat in the first qualifying session but was rebuffed by Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris. However, other drivers still struggled, such as Fernando Alonso, who once again spun off the track. The Aston Martin driver quickly regained control and went back to the course. However, despite the upgrades, the incident shows the bigger issue of Fernando Alonso/Aston Martin struggling with the track, oversteer, grip, etc.

Haas and Williams were having a varied Q1 session. On the one hand, Nico Hulkenberg with Haas was having a phenomenal session with Nico plowing through the ranks all the way up to P1 (before shortly being pushed into P3), while teammate Kevin Magnussen was consistently in the bottom of the pack. Similarly, Alex Albon was having a good session, while his teammate Logan Sargeant placed only a few above Magnussen at the bottom. Unfortunately, Kevin Magnussen and Logan Sargeant would not advance to Q2. Kevin Magnussen accused Oscar Piastri of impeding him on his flying lap, and the stewards will be reviewing the incident after the qualifying session. If found guilty, Piastri could face a grid penalty.

Drivers moving to Q2:

Max Verstappen
Charles Leclerc
Nico Hulkenberg
Yuki Tsunoda
Lando Norris

Out:

Valtteri Bottas
Zhou Guanyu
Kevin Magnussen
Fernando Alonso
Logan Sargeant

Note: Logan Sargeant ended the session in 17th place; however, stewards deleted his lap time after determining he went over track limits, resulting in a DNF.

Q2:

After qualifying fourth in Q1, Yuki Tsunoda showed no signs of slowing down. Pleasantly, neither did his teammate Daniel Ricciardo. The Visa-Cashapp-RB team was showing a great pace the whole weekend. However, many people were speculating that Yuki had an unfair advantage after it was speculated that he was driving with low fuel. Yuki Tsunoda satisfyingly put the rumors to rest during the first qualifying session. Still, he put the rumors 6 feet under after shooting all the way to second place behind Max Verstappen. Yuki managed to be only 0.2 tenths off Max’s fastest set pace of the weekend. Although Daniel Ricciardo was not at the top with his teammate, he was solidly midfield and stayed in the top 10 drivers.

On the other hand, Mercedes was not having the weekend they hoped for. Lewis Hamilton and George Russell were also solidly midfield. While it has not been the worst qualifying session Mercedes has experienced this season, it is also not their best. Lewis and George managed to stay in the top 10 drivers as well.

For Max Verstappen, the qualifying session went as any other; fast. Max and his engineers dialed the car in and consistently took the P1 spot. Unfortunately for Sergio Perez, the whole weekend, he could not get the car to respond the way he needed. All of Q2, he was in the bottom or at risk of being kicked from the session. At the end of Q2, Daniel Ricciardo would push Perez to P11, denying his entry into Q3.

Drivers moving to Q3, aka “The 10 car shoot out”:

Max Verstappen
Charles Leclerc
Yuki Tsunoda
Lando Norris
Oscar Piastri
Carlos Sainz
Nico Hulkenberg
George Russell
Lewis Hamilton
Daniel Ricciardo

Out:

Sergio Perez
Esteban Ocon
Lance Stroll
Alex Albon
Pierre Gasly

Sergio Perez's absence in Q3 was the first time he had not attended the 10-car shoot-out the whole season; likewise, It was Daniel Ricciardo's first time qualifying for Q3. Daniel Ricciardo was sure not to let the opportunity pass him by and continued to get faster and faster lap times.

Max Verstappen, who held 7 consecutive pole positions, saw a chance to make history and match Aryton Senna’s record of 8 consecutive pole positions. The connection between Senna and Imola is historic and tragic. Senna’s tragic accident where he lost his life happened at the Imola Grand Prix, almost 30 years to the day. If Max matched his record at the Imola Grand Prix, it would be a bitter-sweet homage to the legendary racer. Max’s lap times showed that he was determined to pay homage to the late McLaren driver (Williams at the time of his death).

However, Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris would not let Max Verstappen have his movie-star moment easily. Both the McLaren drivers and Verstappen continued trading blows and received the P1 position. It wasn’t until the final seconds that Verstappen won his P1 position, making history.

Grid lineup for Sunday:

Max Verstappen
Oscar Piastri
Lando Norris
Charles Leclerc
Carlos Sainz
George Russell
Yuki Tsunoda
Lewis Hamilton
Daniel Ricciardo
Nico Hulkenberg
Serio Perez
Esteban Ocon
Lance Stroll
Alex Albon
Pierre Gasly
Valtteri Bottas
Zhou Guanyu
Kevin Magnussen
Fernando Alonso
Logan Sargeant

BREAKING: Oscar Piastri loses his grid placement for impeding Kevin Magnussen. He goes from P2 to P5. New grid Placement:

Max Verstappen
Lando Norris
Charles Leclerc
Carlos Sainz
Oscar Piastri

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