Q1

Qualifying for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Imola began with all drivers heading out on the softest tyre available, the new C6 compound. The two Saubers were first to take to the track, and early lap times came in from Alex Albon, Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton.

Only a few minutes into the session, there was a dramatic crash involving Yuki Tsunoda. He lost control and hit the wall heavily, flipping his car at the same corner where Roland Ratzenberger tragically lost his life in 1994. Thankfully, Tsunoda managed to get out of the car by himself and was taken to the Medical Centre for checks.

The session was red-flagged at 16:06, bringing all cars back into the pits. Max Verstappen, who was on a very fast lap at the time, had to abandon his run and would later need a new set of tyres after using up the best of his C6s.

After a delay of around fifteen minutes, qualifying resumed. But not long after, the red flag came out again but this time for Franco Colapinto, who crashed at the exit of Tamburello, the same part of the track where Ayrton Senna had his fatal accident 31 years ago. Colapinto was fortunately unharmed, but it marked the end of Q1.

When the dust settled, the five drivers who were eliminated were Yuki Tsunoda, Ollie Bearman, Esteban Ocon, Nico Hulkenberg and Liam Lawson.

Bearman had briefly made it into the top ten, but his lap time was later deleted. Max Verstappen ended the session fastest, ahead of Fernando Alonso and Oscar Piastri. There are still some incidents under investigation, including a potentially unsafe release by Sauber and a pit lane mix-up involving Franco Colapinto.

Q2

The second part of qualifying at Imola got underway after a delay just before 17:00 local time with 15 drivers left after a dramatic Q1. Franco Colapinto was already out after his crash at the end of the previous session, making it his third major incident in just five Grands Prix since joining F1. All eyes were now on the remaining 14 cars.

Early in Q2, Max Verstappen set the pace ahead of George Russell, with Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton close behind. Lando Norris then briefly went fastest, but his McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri soon beat him by just 20 milliseconds in a very close fight. The two McLarens looked safe with a clear advantage over the rest.

As the session continued, several drivers found themselves in trouble. Colapinto was obviously out, but also in the drop zone were Gabriel Bortoleto, Alex Albon, Pierre Gasly and Lance Stroll. With under eight minutes to go, all cars returned to the track for their final attempts.

Pierre Gasly pushed hard, clearly frustrated by a previous incident with an Aston Martin driver, which he felt ruined his first run. Meanwhile, Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll surprisingly stayed in the pits. The strategy worked, as Stroll managed to go sixth and Alonso seventh, sending both Aston Martins through to Q3.

Drama then hit Ferrari as both Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton failed to improve and were knocked out in P11 and P12, a disaster for the team at their home race. Mercedes’ rookie Kimi Antonelli also didn’t make it and ended up 13th. The bottom five at the end of Q2 were Leclerc, Hamilton, Antonelli, Bortoleto and Colapinto.

Carlos Sainz delivered a stunning lap to top the session for Williams, while Aston Martin impressed using the medium compound tyres. The team brought to Imola a new upgrade package, which appeared to be working well.

Q3

The final part of qualifying at Imola was set up for a thrilling fight for pole position. Lance Stroll made the first big move, jumping to the top of the timing sheets, and his teammate Fernando Alonso couldn’t beat him. Then Lando Norris took provisional pole, only to be quickly beaten by his teammate Oscar Piastri. The two McLarens were flying, but Max Verstappen responded with a fast lap of his own, showing it was going to be a close contest.

George Russell made a mistake on his first run and sat in fourth, but there was still plenty of time to recover. With just under five minutes to go, all drivers returned to the pits for fresh tyres. Teams began to prepare for the final showdown, and we saw a mix of soft and medium compounds on track. Verstappen was the last one to leave the pit lane, while Lando Norris reported loose padding in his cockpit, which McLaren told him to manage as best as he could.

In the final minutes, Oscar Piastri lit up the timing screens with multiple purplesectors and went back to provisional pole despite lots of traffic in the final section. Lando Norris could not improve and stayed in third at best. George Russell then put in a strong lap to jump Norris and take third place, pushing him down to fourth. Max Verstappen gave it one final shot, but it wasn’t enough to beat Piastri. He secured second place, confirming Oscar Piastri as the pole-sitter for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.

Fernando Alonso secured a solid fifth place for Aston Martin, just one thousandth of a second ahead of Carlos Sainz in sixth for Williams. Sainz’s teammate Alex Albon followed closely in seventh, showing strong pace for the team. Lance Stroll took eighth in the second Aston Martin, while rookie Isack Hadjar impressed with ninth for Racing Bulls. Pierre Gasly rounded out the top ten for Alpine.