Max Verstappen tops interrupted Friday qualifying at Imola ahead of Charles Leclerc

Max Verstappen will start the first sprint race of the 2022 Formula 1 season on pole position after topping a dramatic Friday qualifying session at Imola.

Verstappen tussled with championship leader Charles Leclerc for the top spot after the Ferrari driver was fastest in the earlier practice session, but emerged on top of the final shootout after numerous stoppages.

"It was good out there today but also very easy to make mistakes, so luckily we mainly stayed out of trouble," said the Red Bull driver.

Verstappen will be keen to continue the upwards momentum after two DNFs out of three races so far this year.

Leclerc was fastest in Q1 for Ferrari, as the session as brought to a halt with the first of many red flags when Alex Albon's right-rear brake caught fire and exploded.

As the rain began to fall in Q2 it was Carlos Sainz who brought the session to a halt, going second-fastest before spinning into the wall in the final corner.

Mercedes' woes continued with both George Russell and Lewis Hamilton knocked out in Q2, while Sebastian Vettel made it through for his first Q3 appearance for the year.

Sainz was through to the final session but was set for tenth with his car on the back of a tow truck at the Italian circuit, with Kevin Magnussen the next to bring out a red flag when he temporarily beaches his Haas in the gravel.

When the final session resumed the time pressure was on, with Charles Leclerc just two hundredths of a second ahead of Verstappen in the first set of flying laps.

Verstappen was able to claw back pole position before Valtteri Bottas crashed into turn 16, with the session suspended once again and resuming with just over two minutes remaining.

Despite a rush to the flag, neither driver could improve before Lando Norris was the final victim on the slippery track, hitting the barrier while third on the time sheet.

Verstappen returned to pit lane in pole position for the first sprint race of the 2022 season.

"We started on the slicks initially and then it started raining again, making the right call on how you wanted to prep your laps was key today and ultimately we chose the right one, so I’m of course very pleased with that," said the 2021 champion.

"When I saw the yellow flags for Valterri I immediately lifted so there won’t be any trouble there, it does cost you lap time but luckily the lap was still good enough for pole."

"Tomorrow looks to be dry and we haven’t really driven these new cars a lot in the dry here so hopefully in FP2 we can understand the car a bit more in different conditions."

Leclerc said his strategy was interrupted by the multiple red flags.

"I did one strong lap in the last session, then decided to abort my second lap to save the tyres for my last two runs at the end of Q3."

"Unfortunately, that never happened because of the red flags."

"It’s a shame, but everything is still possible."

"We’ve been competitive in all sessions so far and have the potential to fight for the win tomorrow."

Kevin Magnussen will start alongside Norris in fourth, the best qualifying result in the short history of Haas, while Daniel Ricciardo showed signs of a McLaren resurgence in sixth.

Drivers will return for a final practice session before the sprint race at 12.30am AEST on Sunday morning, before the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at 11.00pm AEST on Sunday evening.

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2022 Formula One World Championship - Imola Friday Qualifying

1. Max Verstappen
2. Charles Leclerc
3. Lando Norris
4. Kevin Magnussen
5. Fernando Alonso
6. Daniel Ricciardo (AUS)
7. Sergio Perez
8. Valtteri bottas
9. Sebastian Vettel
10. Carlos Sainz
11. George Russell
12. Mick Schumacher
13. Lewis Hamilton
14. Guanyu Zhou
15. Lance Stroll
16. Yuki Tsunoda
17. Pierre Gasly
18. Nicholas Latifi
19. Esteban Ocon
20. Alex Albon - DNF