We’re only four races into the F1 season but Lewis Hamilton has already given up any hope of winning the world championship.
Welcome to news.com.au’s live coverage of tonight’s Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen will start on pole position after he won Saturday’s sprint race, which doubled as qualifying for the race proper.
He passed Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc in the dying stages of the sprint to set the scene for another riveting battle between the pair.
Watch Every Practice, Qualifying & Race of the 2022 FIA Formula One World Championship™ Live on Kayo. New to Kayo? Try 14-Days Free Now >
Leclerc leads the drivers championship by 34 points and Verstappen, who has failed to finish two of the three races so far, will be desperate to win to gain ground on Leclerc in the championship battle.
Daniel Ricciardo will start from sixth on the grid alongside his McLaren teammate Lando Norris.
The Australian had a solid performance in the sprint despite technical issues with his car preventing him from completing any practice laps beforehand.
Mercedes is in dire straits and both Lewis Hamilton and George Russell will start from the bottom half of the grid.
Hamilton admitted Mercedes have no hope of defending their constructors title this year after he qualified 14th, three places behind Russell.
“We are obviously not fighting for the championship this year — first of all we have to understand this car and improve and make some progress through the year,” he said.
“That’s all we can hope for.
“We are all working hard and there are a lot of people in the team who have been here for 20 years — so it’s not new for them.”
Drivers will have to contend with a wet track in Imola after it was hammered by torrential rain.
The race is set to get underway at 11pm (AEST).
Emilia Romagna Grand Prix starting grid
1) Max Verstappen
2) Charles Leclerc
3) Sergio Perez
4) Carlos Sainz
5) Lando Norris
6) Daniel Ricciardo
7) Valtteri Bottas
8) Kevin Magnussen
9) Fernando Alonso
10) Mick Schumacher
11) George Russell
12) Yuki Tsunoda
13) Sebastian Vettel
14) Lewis Hamilton
15) Lance Stroll
16) Esteban Ocon
17) Pierre Gasly
18) Alex Albon
19) Nicholas Latifi
20) Zhou Guanyu
Originally published as Emilia Romagna F1 Grand Prix live: Lewis Hamilton’s season is already over
