Oscar Piastri of McLaren secured pole position for the 2025 FIA Formula 1 Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, finishing just 0.034 seconds ahead of Max Verstappen and George Russell of Mercedes. The qualifying session at Imola was extended due to two red flag interruptions.
At the beginning of qualifying, Williams’ Alex Albon established an early benchmark with a time of 1:16.164. The Thai driver was among the few to record a lap before the initial red flag was displayed.
At the beginning of his initial flying lap, Yuki Tsunoda exceeded the track limits on the left side of the Villeneuve chicane. Following contact with the kerb, he lost control and spun at high speed. His vehicle skidded through the gravel trap, became briefly airborne, and subsequently overturned, impacting the catch-fencing. Despite significant damage to the car, the Red Bull Racing driver was uninjured and was able to safely exit the vehicle.
Following a 14-minute pause to recover the Japanese driver’s vehicles and repair the barriers, the session resumed. Max Verstappen promptly secured the top position with a lap time of 1:15.175. Oscar Piastri subsequently moved into second place, trailing Verstappen by three tenths of a second.
During the final runs, Verstappen chose to remain in the garage while his competitors took to the track. However, circumstances prevented many from completing their laps, as red flags were quickly issued for the second time. Franco Colapinto rejoined the track but lost control at the exit of Tamburello, spinning off into the barriers. Fortunately, the Argentinian driver was able to exit his damaged vehicle safely. The incident resulted in several drivers being unable to improve their positions, including Liam Lawson in P16, followed by Nico Hülkenberg of Sauber, Esteban Ocon and Oliver Bearman of Haas, and Yuki Tsunoda.
Following a 26-minute delay, Piastri, who had established the fastest pace in the initial segments of Q2, completed his lap in 1:15.241. He finished just 0.02 seconds ahead of his McLaren teammate Lando Norris. Max Verstappen secured third place, posting a time 0.159 seconds behind the leader, while George Russell in the Mercedes was fourth, 0.151 seconds behind Verstappen.
Verstappen and both McLaren drivers chose to exit for their final runs using used tires. This allowed Williams’ Carlos Sainz to finish the session in first position with a lap time of 1:15.198. Piastri secured second place, followed by Norris and Russell, with Verstappen completing the top five.
Behind the Dutch driver, Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll, each equipped with a set of Medium tires, utilized the yellow-banded C5 compound to secure sixth and seventh positions, respectively. Their progress up the grid, along with strong final laps from Alpine’s Pierre Gasly, Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar, and Williams’ Alexander Albon, resulted in the surprising elimination of both Ferrari drivers from qualifying, with Charles Leclerc finishing in P11 and Lewis Hamilton in P12. Additionally, local favorite Kimi Antonelli of Mercedes was eliminated in P13, followed by Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto and Colapinto.
At the beginning of Q3, Verstappen secured provisional pole position. Norris was the first among the main contenders to set a time, recording a lap of 1:14.962. Piastri subsequently improved his position with a standout middle sector, surpassing his teammate by 0.015 seconds. Verstappen then posted the fastest first sector, ultimately setting a lap time of 1:14.772 and igniting a competitive final phase of qualifying.
Piastri was the first to submit their final run, setting a strong benchmark with a lap time of 1:14.670. Verstappen demonstrated strong performance in the initial sector; however, he was unable to replicate that pace in the middle sector. Ultimately, Piastri secured pole position, finishing 0.034 seconds ahead.
Behind the top two qualifiers, Russell advanced to P3 in the final moments, while Norris was positioned at the rear of row two. Remarkably, Alonso secured fifth place using a set of used Medium tires, while the Williams drivers, Sainz and Albon, qualified sixth and seventh, respectively, ahead of Stroll, who also utilized Medium tires, as well as Hadjar and Gasly.
2025 FIA Formula 1 Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix – Qualifying
1 Oscar Piastri McLaren/Mercedes 1’14.670 – –
2 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1’14.704 0.034 0.046
3 George Russell Mercedes 1’14.807 0.137 0.183
4 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 1’14.962 0.292 0.391
5 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin/Mercedes 1’15.431 0.761 1.019
6 Carlos Sainz Williams/Mercedes 1’15.432 0.762 1.020
7 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 1’15.473 0.803 1.075
8 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 1’15.581 0.911 1.220
9 Isack Hadjar Racing Bulls/Honda RBPT 1’15.746 1.076 1.441
10 Pierre Gasly Alpine/Renault 1’15.787 1.117 1.496
11 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1’15.604 0.934 1.251
12 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari 1’15.765 1.095 1.466
13 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 1’15.772 1.102 1.476
14 Gabriel Bortoleto Sauber/Ferrari 1’16.260 1.590 2.129
15 Franco Colapinto Alpine/Renault – – –
16 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls/Honda RBPT 1’16.379 1.709 2.289
17 Nico Hülkenberg Sauber/Ferrari 1’16.518 1.848 2.475
18 Esteban Ocon Haas/Ferrari 1’16.613 1.943 2.602
19 Oliver Bearman Haas/Ferrari 1’16.918 2.248 3.011
20 Yuki Tsunoda Red Bull/Honda RBPT – – –
