Oscar Piastri held his nerve in a breathless qualifying session at Imola, edging out Max Verstappen by just 0.034 seconds to claim pole for the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, his third of a dazzling season.
On a day marked by red flags, tyre drama, and high-speed crashes, it was Piastri who mastered the chaos. The McLaren driver strung together a clinical lap in Q3, navigating a traffic-packed final sector to pip the reigning world champion at the death. “It was a great session but a very tough one,” said Piastri.
Verstappen looked to have snatched pole on his final run, finding time through the middle sector and nosing ahead out of the final corner. But Piastri’s McLaren found just enough on the home straight to deny him a reversal of fortune from their last front-row battle in Saudi Arabia.
George Russell stunned by sneaking into third, splitting the McLarens as Lando Norris settled for fourth despite strong early pace. Aston Martin’s upgrades paid dividends with Fernando Alonso securing a season-best fifth, marking a significant step forward after a sluggish start to 2025.
Ferrari endured a nightmare on home soil, with both Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton bowing out in Q2, Leclerc missing the top ten by a mere 0.083 seconds. “My god,” he exclaimed over team radio, summing up the Tifosi’s frustration on a bitter afternoon in Imola.
The session was marred by two major crashes. Alpine’s Franco Colapinto brought out red flags after losing control at Tamburello and slamming into the barriers. Despite making Q2, a procedural error saw him penalised and demoted to 16th on the grid.
Yuki Tsunoda’s high-speed crash at the Villeneuve Chicane was even more dramatic. His Red Bull barrel-rolled through the gravel after catching the kerb at 120mph, but he thankfully walked away unscathed and was cleared after medical checks.
