Emilia Romagna F1 Sprint: Live updates, grid & highlights from qualifying

A qualifying session hampered by red flags sees Max Verstappen start the Emilia Romagna F1 Sprint, the first Sprint of this season, on pole.

Charles Leclerc will start alongside him on the front row, with Lando Norris and Kevin Magnussen starting in P3 and P4, respectively.

For the Dutch driver, whose car has struggled to last the length of a full race this season, the truncated outing offers him a chance to score points, and to make sure he starts the Grand Prix in the best possible position.

With rain affecting qualifying, the white lines on the edge of the track were slippery, causing drivers to run off the track on more than occasion, and the red flags were brought out.

The lack of a full Q3 only adds to the uncertainty ahead of Sprint. George Russell and Lewis Hamilton start 11th and 13th, respectively, with the Mercedes really struggling to get heat into the tyres on the cool Italian tarmac, and the cars visibly lacked grip.

Carlos Sainz crashed out in Q2, so his Ferrari will be starting 10th, having not taken part in Q3. It’s the home weekend for the AlphaTauri team, but Yuki Tsunoda and Pierre Gasly could only finish 16th and 17th, respectively. 

The Sporting News is following the Sprint live, providing updates and commentary below.

MORE: What is F1 Sprint? Schedule, points & how new Formula 1 qualifying format works

Emilia Romagna Grand Prix Sprint live updates

Formation lap: A mix of soft and medium tyres, as the teams begin the formation lap. Most are on softs. Of the cars with medium tyres, Magnussen is the furthest forward. Fernando Alonso is slow off the mark, with a couple of cars overtaking him. He eventually gets his car going, and will be allowed to start in P5, as he got off the grid before the last car passed him.

5 mins to lights out: The weather brought chaos to yesterday’s qualifying session, and it remains to be seen how the track will act today. Some teams struggled to get heat in their tyres yesterday, and they’ll be hoping for a more driveable circuit today.

15 mins to lights out: There are a few drivers who will be looking to make up places as they qualify for the full length race tomorrow. Red Bull will be looking for Perez to finish nearer to Max Verstappen, while Mercedes will be hoping that their race pace helps them out today.

25 mins to lights out: It’s the first Spring of the season, and with more points at stake for Sprint this season, there’s even more incentive for teams to push hard in this format.

1 hour to lights out: Welcome to The Sporting News’ live coverage of the first Sprint session of the 2022 Formula 1 season. 

How to watch the 2022 Emilia Romagna F1 Sprint 

Emilia Romagna Sprint qualifying results

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