May 18th 2024.
On Sunday's race at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, Lando Norris will be starting from P2 on the grid, alongside Max Verstappen in P1. This comes after his teammate, Oscar Piastri, was penalized, leading to a change in the front row of the grid.
During the qualifying session, Verstappen took pole position, tying the record for the most pole positions in Imola. However, the McLarens of Piastri and Norris were also close behind, with less than a tenth of a second separating them. Piastri managed to edge out Norris by a mere 0.017 seconds to secure P2, but unfortunately, he has now been given a three-grid place penalty for blocking Kevin Magnussen during the first session.
It was found that Piastri impeded Magnussen at Turns 2 and 3, causing him to almost crash and resulting in a disappointing qualifying result of 18th place for the Haas driver. Magnussen was understandably upset and expressed his frustration over the team radio, stating that he couldn't believe what had happened.
After reviewing the incident, the stewards accepted Piastri's explanation that he couldn't see Magnussen until it was too late due to the layout of the circuit. However, they also noted that Piastri's team did not warn him of the approaching car until it was too close for him to avoid blocking it. This lack of communication was deemed to be an "unnecessary impeding" and as a result, Piastri drops to fifth on the grid, moving Norris and the Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz up a spot.
This change in the grid will give Norris a better chance at securing back-to-back victories, after his first Formula 1 win in Miami two weeks ago. He expressed his satisfaction with P3 in qualifying, stating that it was a great performance from him and his team. He also acknowledged the strong performances from Piastri and Verstappen, making for an exciting and competitive race tomorrow.
As for Verstappen, he is now joined by Leclerc on the front row, with Norris and Sainz directly behind. Norris is confident in his team's performance and is looking forward to a close and challenging race, with the tight lap times making strategy and pit stops crucial. The Emilia Romagna Grand Prix will certainly be one to watch, starting at 2pm UK time on Sunday.
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