F1 qualifying LIVE: Updates from rainy Imola as struggling Lewis Hamilton scrapes through to Q2

LIVE – Updated at 16:49

Follow all the latest updates from qualifying at a rainy Imola on Friday afternoon as the drivers battle for position ahead of Saturday’s sprint race at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.

Friday has already seen the F1 teams get out on the track for the first practice session of the weekend and qualifying is taking place 24 hours earlier than usual due to the first sprint race of the 2022 season on Saturday before the race itself being in its usual Sunday slot.

During the opening practice, Lewis Hamilton finished only 18th as Charles Leclerc set the pace on a rain-drenched afternoon. Carlos Sainz was second fastest as Ferrari notched a one-two to raise hopes that they’ll continue their sterling start to the campaign that has seen Leclerc win two of the opening three races - holding a commanding 34-point lead at the top of the championship.

World champion Max Verstappen finished third in FP1, 1.465 seconds down, with Kevin Magnussen and Mick Schumacher fourth and fifth respectively for Haas but Mercedes’ early-season woes showed few signs of changing with George Russell only 10th, and team-mate Hamilton even further back, seven seconds off Leclerc’s pace.

Follow all the latest updates from qualifying at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix below:

Q2 will resume at 4:50pm as the rain starts to pour. That’s not great for the bottom five cars. Both Mercedes’ are at risk. You have to go back to the Japanese GP in 2012 for the last time Mercedes completely missed out on Q3. They’re staring down the barrel here.

Stroll, Zhou, Hamilton, Schumacher and Russell are all under threat of elimination and the rain is on the way. If the track gets wet these early Q2 times will be tough to beat.

Carlos Sainz may just sneak