Champion Max Verstappen of Red Bull was fastest in a tricky qualifying session on Friday at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix for the first sprint race of the season. Verstappen clocked 1 minute 27.999 seconds to beat championship leader Charles Leclerc of Ferrari by 0.779 second at the Scuderia’s home track. McLaren’s Lando Norris was third, 1.132 seconds off the pace. The Dutchman was helped by a late and fifth red flag during the session, which prevented Leclerc from improving his time on wet track conditions. The Monegasque driver was on a flying lap as cars returned to the track following the…