- World champion will start P1 on Sunday and claims eight points
- Lewis Hamilton struggles in Mercedes and will begin in 14th
Max Verstappen won the sprint race for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Imola and in doing so secured pole for Sunday’s race. The Red Bull driver won the 21-lap dash after brilliantly taking the lead on the penultimate lap, beating Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc into second, with Sergio Pérez in third for Red Bull. Lewis Hamilton and George Russell, still struggling with their Mercedes car, could manage only 14th and 11th respectively.
With Mercedes still off the pace the battle at the front remains between Ferrari and Red Bull, and really between Leclerc and Verstappen. With eight points for the sprint win Verstappen has clawed back a single point to Leclerc who now has a 45-point lead over the world champion.