F1 Emilia-Romagna GP Qualifying: Pole for Oscar Piastri, Ferrari Collapse in Imola
Oscar Piastri stunned the grid again by a pole position at the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, as Ferrari endured a nightmare qualifying session on home soil at Imola.
The session was far from smooth. Q1 dragged on for nearly an hour following crashes involving Yuki Tsunoda and Franco Colapinto, which brought out two red flags and disrupted the rhythm of the field.
But it was Q2 that truly shook the Tifosi. Local hero Charles Leclerc could only manage P11, while teammate Lewis Hamilton — driving in red for the first season — fared no better, qualifying P12. Both were shock eliminations ahead of the top-10 shootout.
At the sharp end of the grid, it was a thrilling duel between title contenders. Piastri, in the ever-improving McLaren, edged out Max Verstappen by just over a tenth of a second, denying Red Bull another front-row lockout.
George Russell will line up third for Mercedes, with Lando Norris in fourth — making it a double top-four start for McLaren and continuing their recent resurgence.
