Max Verstappen enjoys 'special' day as he matches Ayrton Senna pole record

Max Verstappen said it was "special" to match Ayrton Senna's record of eight consecutive pole positions for Sunday’s Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.

At the Imola venue which claimed Senna’s life 30 years ago, Verstappen fended off McLaren’s challenge to draw level with the great Brazilian.

Oscar Piastri took second – just 0.074 seconds behind Verstappen – with Lando Norris, who broke his race victory duck in Miami a fortnight ago, only 0.091 seconds adrift.

However, Piastri was later penalised three grid places for impeding Haas’ Kevin Magnussen in Q1 and dropped to fifth, promoting Norris to the front row of the grid.

Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz qualified fourth and fifth respectively for Ferrari at the Italian team’s home event, but will start third and fourth as a result of Piastri’s penalty, with George Russell sixth – half-a-second behind – and two places ahead of Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton.

Senna’s one-lap streak started for McLaren in Jerez in 1988 and ended in Phoenix the following season.

But at the race marking the three-decade anniversary of his death here, Verstappen set a blistering pace to drive into the history books.

"It is very special," said Verstappen on equalling Senna’s feat. "It is 30 years since he passed away at this track, so I am very, very pleased to get pole here.

"In a way, it is a nice memory to him. He was an incredible Formula One driver, especially in qualifying. It is a great day for me and a great day for the team."

Verstappen headed into the final qualifying runs with a slender 0.073-second margin over Norris, but he pulled out all the stops to increase his advantage and become only the second driver – after Senna’s great rival Alain Prost in 1993 – to start a season with seven poles