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Formula 1
Emilia Romagna GP
F1 Imola GP Live Commentary and Updates - Race
Minute-by-minute updates for the 2024 Formula 1 Imola Grand Prix.
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Max Verstappen claimed an eighth consecutive F1 pole position, matching the all-time record held by Ayrton Senna, as Oscar Piastri dropped from the front row to fifth place after picking up a penalty for impeding Kevin Magnussen in qualifying.
That means Miami GP winner Lando Norris joins Verstappen on the front row, with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz filling out row two ahead of Piastri.
The Imola GP starts at 2pm BST (3pm local time).
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The race lead continues to grow, as Verstappen eases it over 6s while the expected pit window opens on lap 21.
Verstappen makes his first mistake of the race, if you can call it that, as he gets pinged for track limits at the exit of Rivazza. It was nowhere near as bad as team-mate Perez from a few moments ago as Verstappen didn't lose any time.
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"Ah f**k, I went off."
Nightmare for Perez, who skates into the gravel at Rivazza and loses five seconds of race time.
Nightmare for Perez, who skates into the gravel at Rivazza and loses five seconds of race time.
Leclerc is told by Ferrari it is going for plan B. So is that pit before Norris to go for the undercut, or go long and hope for the overcut or a safety car?
Those pitstops have released Perez, who started on the hard tyres.
The Red Bull has dropped 10 seconds behind Hamilton when stuck in the DRS train, so has a mountain to climb for further points.
The Red Bull has dropped 10 seconds behind Hamilton when stuck in the DRS train, so has a mountain to climb for further points.
Verstappen keeps chipping away as he lead grows to 5s on lap 16. Norris is keeping a 1.3s buffer over Leclerc behind him, as the fight for fourth between Sainz and Piastri continues.
Pit stop
An important stop for the minor points as Hulkenberg pits. Can Haas keep him ahead of Tsunoda? No!
A great out-lap from Tsunoda sees him get back ahead.
A great out-lap from Tsunoda sees him get back ahead.
Norris is bleeding time to Verstappen over this stint, as he concedes another seventh-tenths on that last lap.
Alonso has also been in the pits and alarmingly, his brakes were on fire as he left the lane. He continues though.
Pit stop
Tsunoda follows Ricciardo in a lap later, easily coming out ahead of the Australian.
Verstappen's lead is up to 3.3s at the end of lap 12. While the midfield runners are pitting early, we don't expect the frontrunners to pit for another eight laps at least.
Pit stop
Ricciardo has ducked out of the train behind Hulkenberg and found a nice pocket of clean air to set some lap times.
Will this trigger a chain reaction?
Will this trigger a chain reaction?
Piastri just cannot get close enough to Sainz to make a move for fourth place. Given his grid penalty, it must be hugely frustrating for the Aussie given how good things looked for him at the end of quali.
It looked like the front-right was on the wobbly side of stable for Albon. Anyway, he's back in the race after a second stop.
Albon has done a nice job of staying out of the way of the leaders as he crawls back to the pits, but that's his race ruined.
Bit by bit Verstappen is building his lead which is up to 2.6s on Norris after 10 laps.
And Albon is slow when rejoining the circuit.
"I've got a problem, the tyre's not on properly." That will explain it.
"I've got a problem, the tyre's not on properly." That will explain it.
Pit stop
Pitstops already down the field as Albon, Gasly and Bottas all stop.
Alpine driver Gasly had been on the softs
Alpine driver Gasly had been on the softs
Hulkenberg's lack of pace compared to the top seven has left him over four seconds adrift of Hamilton.
The German could be the key to the pit window for those at the front.
The German could be the key to the pit window for those at the front.
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"McLaren is fast," Sainz says over team radio. He's not wrong. Piastri keeps closing up to the rear of the Ferrari driver on the main straight but cannot get near enough for a move.
Verstappen's advantage at the front is 2s on lap seven, as the gaps between the frontrunners start to spread out. Piastri is the only driver still in DRS range to the driver ahead of him which is Sainz.
Replays indicate contact between Stroll and Ocon at Tosa in the opening exchanges as the Canadian lunged to the inside. Ocon is back in front now.
At the start of lap five Verstappen's lead is up to 1.5s, pulling out six-tenths on the last lap against Norris. Leclerc, in third, has a mini DRS train behind him with Sainz and Piastri right up behind him.
The Mercedes drivers have broken the DRS trail to Hulkenberg and are now chasing Piastri in fifth - though struggling to stay in touch.
Perez is bottled behind the Haas and Tsunoda and bleeding time to his rivals.
Perez is bottled behind the Haas and Tsunoda and bleeding time to his rivals.
But by the time the pack makes it to the DRS zone on the main straight at the end of lap two, Norris is just outside of DRS range of Verstappen so that's an early blow for his hopes of keeping pace with the leader.
Hulkenberg also made his way past Tsunoda, whilst team-mate Magnussen jumped both Saubers.
Everyone very well behaved on the opening lap, with Hamilton moving into seventh and tucked up behind Russell. DRS is enabled on lap two and Norris is, just, still in range.
Hamilton gets straight past Tsunoda - that will be crucial for his race.
The same can be said for Perez, who made his way past Ricciardo.
The same can be said for Perez, who made his way past Ricciardo.
Lights green
Verstappen gets a mega start and keeps the lead through the opening corners, Norris in second with Leclerc and Sainz in tow.
The formation lap is under way and everyone is away smoothly. The flares are lit in the grandstands and the crowd is roaring in anticipation.
The tyre blankets are off and it looks like shiny, new mediums for all of the top 10 too. A level playing field.
The grid is cleared and we are moments away from the formation lap. Who are you backing for the win today?
Tyres: Most of the grid are on medium tyres to start, but Gasly and Alonso have gone for softs while Perez, Zhou and Sargeant have gone for hards.
Verstappen's sim racing squad Team Redline has just won the iRacing Nurburgring 24 Hours. That must make the Dutchman the first driver to win a virtual race while sat in an F1 car.
There's a 10% chance of rain for this race - I think we can assume that won't happen with the tiny and thin clouds drifting over the Imola sky.
National anthem time! A lovely rendition of the Italian national anthem sung by a childrens choir supported by a violinist. Nice, but needed more passion. 7/10.
Admittedly there was a great, big gap when Imola was off the F1 calendar in recent times, but the last driver to win outside the top three of the grid was Damon Hill for Williams in 1995. The start is going to be vital to the story of this race. Can Norris take it to Verstappen?
The atmosphere is building on the grid, with just a smattering of celebs spotted so far, but this will be relatively tame compared to Monaco this time next week.
Breaking news
F1 big boss Stefano Domenicali - at his home race - is showing around the Thailand prime minister Srettha Thavisin on the grid. This weekend it has emerged it is one location where F1 is targeting for its next new race. Full story here.
The pitlane has closed and everyone apart from Alonso have made it to the grid. The Aston Martin driver is starting from the pitlane after the team made suspension and set-up changes to his car after qualifying. Given he only qualified 19th, it is a relatively minor penalty.
By: Autosport Staff
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