Championship leader Oscar Piastri has claimed pole position for Sunday`s Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, narrowly defeating reigning world champion Max Verstappen.
Piastri`s McLaren proved to be just 0.034 seconds faster than the Red Bull at the Imola circuit, with the two drivers exchanging the fastest times across various sectors on the 3-mile track.
“It was a great session but a very tough session with all the delays, red flags and the tyres,” Piastri commented on achieving his third pole position of the season. “The tyre has been very tricky today, I think after yesterday everyone thought the C6 was not too bad and today it was a real mystery.”
“The team did a great job and got the car in a nice window, we`ve been trying a few different things this weekend and we got into a nice place for qualifying.”
“The lap was good, I had about four cars in the last corner which didn`t help but it was enough so I`m very happy with the job we`ve done and I`m excited for [Sunday] now.”
Verstappen improved his time on his final attempt, exiting the final corner slightly ahead on the clock, but Piastri`s McLaren had the decisive edge on the run to the finish line.
Lando Norris, who is currently second in the championship standings, 16 points behind Piastri, qualified fourth. Mercedes driver George Russell managed to snatch third place from him in the closing moments of the session.
This result sets up an intriguing contest for Sunday`s race. Piastri and Verstappen last started side-by-side on the front row at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, where the McLaren driver successfully challenged Verstappen into the first corner despite starting from second.
Fernando Alonso achieved his best qualifying result of the season, securing fifth place with a significantly upgraded Aston Martin. The team had a difficult start to the year but has introduced a substantial update package this weekend, which appears to have yielded considerable progress.
Carlos Sainz qualified sixth for Williams, ahead of his teammate Alex Albon in seventh. Lance Stroll took eighth place in the second Aston Martin.
Isack Hadjar continued his impressive rookie season, qualifying ninth for Racing Bulls, just ahead of Pierre Gasly in the Alpine in tenth.
Both Ferrari drivers were eliminated in Q2, a disappointing outcome for the team in front of their home crowd. Charles Leclerc will start 11th and Lewis Hamilton 12th, continuing Ferrari`s recent struggles in qualifying.
“My god, my god, my god,” Leclerc exclaimed over team radio when he was informed he had missed the top 10 by a narrow 0.083 seconds.
Further disappointment for the local fans came as Andrea Kimi Antonelli, the only Italian driver on the grid, qualified 13th for his first home race. Gabriel Bortoleto will start 14th for Sauber.
Franco Colapinto`s first qualifying session as an Alpine driver ended with a crash into the barriers at Imola`s Tamburello Chicane during Q1.
The Argentine driver was drafted in for the weekend, replacing Jack Doohan, who had competed in just seven races for the team before being reassigned to a reserve role.
Colapinto was attempting to improve his initial Q1 time when he ran wide in the final part of the Tamburello Chicane, lost control of the car, and slid through the gravel into the outside barriers.
He had posted the 14th fastest time before the session was red-flagged due to the incident, meaning he technically progressed to Q2 despite being unable to participate further.
Following an investigation into the incident, Colapinto received a grid penalty and will now start 16th.
Yuki Tsunoda also walked away unharmed from a significant accident in Q1 at the Villeneuve Chicane, which saw his Racing Bulls car barrel-roll after hitting the barriers.
Tsunoda was on his first timed lap when he took too much of the curb on the first apex of the chicane, losing the rear of his car at high speed.
He spun through the gravel with no opportunity to slow down, resulting in a heavy impact with the barriers that sent the car into the air.
The car came to rest upright, allowing Tsunoda to exit the wreckage before being taken for mandatory medical checks.
Having failed to set a valid lap time, Tsunoda will start Sunday`s race from the back of the grid.
Liam Lawson will start 15th for Racing Bulls, ahead of Nico Hülkenberg and the two Haas drivers, Esteban Ocon and Oliver Bearman.
