Sir Lewis Hamilton put himself on pole for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix in Imola – the Briton’s 99th time at the front at the start of a race in his remarkable career. But to the surprise of many Red Bull’s Sergio Perez, second fastest, outqualified Max Verstappen in the same Red Bull. Verstappen, who had far from a clean lap, was only third best. Briton George Russell was 12th quickest for Williams, beating his team-mate Nicholas Latifi (14th) yet again. Carlos Sainz (11th) of Ferrari and Sebastian Vettel (13th) also fell out at this stage, along with Fernando Alonso (15th) – big names axed earlier than they wished.

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