Verstappen and his Red Bull team struggled throughout the Imola weekend. But, they made significant improvements to their car’s setup. When it counted most, Verstappen delivered a strong lap, securing his eighth consecutive pole position. He managed to stay ahead of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris.
Verstappen’s key moment came on the straight, where his faster top speeds helped him gain a significant advantage by Turn 2, Tamburello. This gave him a substantial lead over Piastri.
Some of Verstappen’s speed advantage was thanks to Nico Hulkenberg, a Haas driver. Verstappen referred to Hulkenberg as his “tow buddy” because Hulkenberg helped him by drafting during Q2.
Verstappen explained, “In Q2 I gave him a tow to Turn 17. Then he gave me a tow to Turn 2. I think I did arrive a bit too quick for my liking because I did miss Turn 2 a little bit, so I did gain and then I did lose a bit in 2. I think it did help me a little bit. But when you are struggling the whole weekend and then finally it’s coming around, you have to look for these little advantages to try and stay ahead and it worked out beautifully.”
The collaboration between Verstappen and Hulkenberg was spontaneous rather than planned. Hulkenberg went out earlier in Q3 to avoid traffic on his out-lap. This led him to pass Verstappen at the final Rivazza complex while Verstappen was warming up his tires.
During an interview with Sky Sports F1, Hulkenberg mentioned, “Max and I, we’ve been helping each other out this quali. He helped me a few times in Q2 and I returned the favour here [in Q3]. So yeah, you need the support of colleagues sometimes.”
