Verstappen ready to dive down the inside of Piastri? The Dutchman answers!

13:48, 18 May

byKada Sarkozi

After just missing out on pole position for the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, Max Verstappen looked ahead to Sunday's race in during the drivers' parade in Imola.

Verstappen will start from second place on the grid, alongside Oscar Piastri. In Qualifying, only 0.034 separated the two drivers, in favour of the Australian.

Looking ahead to the Grand Prix, Verstappen said: "I love Imola. It's one of my favorite tracks on the calendar. It has a lot of emotion and the scenery around here is fantastic."

Max Verstappen in action during qualifying at Imola.

Verstappen against Piastri into Turn 1?

During the Saudi Arabia GP, the two drivers already had a hard-fought battle into the first corner after the start. After Verstappen cut the second corner, the stewards gave him a five-second penalty.

Today however, Verstappen will be the chaser. "We'll try to have a good start naturally, but it's a very long race a lot can happen also with the tyre management and that's what we have to try and and understand I guess anyway a bit better. So we'll see what we can do."

The Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix will start at 15:00 local time at the Imola circuit (14:00 GMT).