Lewis Hamilton to start Imola Sprint race 13th as Max Verstappen clinches pole

Lewis Hamilton will start Saturday’s Sprint race at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix from a lowly 13th as Max Verstappen took pole position in a chaotic qualifying session that was red flagged on five occasions.

Seven-time world champion Hamilton scraped out of Q1 by just four thousandths of a second before Carlos Sainz crashed out and then the rain arrived in Q2.

The newly-damp track meant Hamilton could not improve on his sole lap, leaving him with a woeful grid slot for Saturday’s 21-lap dash around Imola – the finishing order of which determines the grid for Sunday’s Grand Prix.

Not where we want to be, but plenty of opportunity to move forward on this Sprint weekend