Oscar Piastri claimed the third pole of his F1 career in the Emilia Romagna GP Qualifying. The incident-filled qualifying session had everything that you expect from a traditional track. From high-speed crashes, red flags, bumping on curves, or dipping wheels in the gravel to ruin a lap, it had everything.
The World Championship leader narrowly pipped the reigning champion, Max Verstappen, by a few hundredths of a second in the qualifying session. Max was followed by George Russell and his arch-nemesis, Lando Norris. The Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso will start a surprising 5th ahead of the flying Williams of Carlos Sainz in 6th. The 7th position will be occupied by Alex Albon, and the 8th position by Lance Stroll. The final row of the top 10 will be occupied by the in-form Isac Hadjar, with Pierre Gasly occupying the 10th spot. Below are the key points that we can take away from the Emilia GP Qualifying.
Key Takeaways of the Emilia Romagna GP Qualifying
1. Piastri Masterclass Continues in the Emilia Romagna GP Qualifying
Oscar Piastri claims the first pole at the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari circuit for McLaren since 2005. The Aussie had an up-and-down session. Before the final round of laps, it looked like Max Verstappen had the edge to claim pole. The final lap wasn’t his best lap, as he caught traffic at the end of his lap and he wasn’t impressed with the team. However, Verstappen got an understeer during his lap, which cost him pole. In a race where position is important, has Oscar already done half the work?
2. George Shines as Landos Struggles Continues
George Russell once again had an amazing qualifying session. After a below-par qualifying in Miami, Russell pulled out a great lap on the medium tires. The Brit pipped Lando Norris, whose struggles continue in the McLaren. Norris looked to finish 3rd at best, 2nd in the session. However, a mistake in the final lap of qualifying session pushed him down into 4th spot for the race tomorrow.
3. The Resurgence of Aston Martin
Aston Martin has had a bad 2025 F1 season. The team bought in upgrades this weekend, and they worked wonders for the British team. The team that struggled to get into Q2 managed to get both their cars into Q3 with ease, pushing out both Ferraris in their home race. Fernando Alonso will start 5th in tomorrow’s race, while Lance Stroll will start 8th in the race. This is a massive improvement for the team, and they will hope to capitalize on it. This was something that nobody predicted in their weekend preview for the team.
4. Ferrari’s Crash Out of Q2 in Italy
The Ferrari team had a horror show in Imola, their second home race. The team had been struggling in the past two race weekends. However, they were completely outclassed in the Emilia Romagna qualifying and finished 11th and 12th. In Miami, they were the 5th fastest team, but in Imola, they looked the 7th or worst team. This is a major disappointment for the team, and Leclerc was very disappointed after getting knocked out in Q2.
5. Kimi Antonelli Fails to Reach Q3 in his Home Race
It was another heartbreak for Italian fans as Antonelli also couldn’t get into Q3. The young Mercedes driver who studies a few miles from the track was clearly disappointed after he didn’t make it to the next part of qualifying. The Tifosi looked disappointed as none of their own was part of the 3rd part of qualifying.
6. The Second Red Bull Curse Hits Again
Yuki Tsunoda was slowly adapting to life at Red Bull. The practice sessions in Emilia Romagna GP were promising for the Japanese driver. However, during his first push lap in Q1, Yuki had a big shunt as his car bottomed out, coming out of the first corner. It was a spectacular crash, but the roll hoop, alongside all the safety features in the F1 car, ensured that Tsunoda came out unscathed.
7. Colopinto Crashes Out on his Alpine Debut
Franco Colopinto crashed out of the Emilia Romagna GP qualifying after dipping a tire at the exit of turn three. The Argentine who replaced Jack Doohan in the Alpine qualified for Q2 but couldn’t take part after the crash. The Alpine looked quite competitive, and Doohan may be having a good time looking at Colopinto’s struggling. He is also currently under investigation and could be dropped down another position after he came into the fast lane of the pit lane ahead of the specified time.
8. FIA Unclear DECISION making
A major talking point when the red flag came out after Colopinto’s crash was the final classification of the Q1 session. The Haas team was certain that Oliver Bearman finished his lap before the red flag came out and made it out of Q1. But from the replays, it was clear that it wasn’t. However, the FIA stewards had to delay the start of the Q2 session of the Emilia Romagna GP qualifying to mitigate the issue. This may be good to some degree, other than making changes after the end of qualifying, but does it validate delaying the session?
Provisional Starting Grid for the Emilia Romagna GP
- Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
- Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
- George Russell (Mercedes)
- Lando Norris (McLaren)
- Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)
- Carlos Sainz (Williams)
- Alex Albon (Williams)
- Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)
- Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls)
- Pierre Gasly (Alpine)
- Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
- Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari)
- Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes)
- Gabriel Bortoleto (Sauber)
- Franco Colopinto (Alpine)
- Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls)
- Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber)
- Esteban Ocon (Haas)
- Ollie Bearman (Haas)
- Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull)
Leave a Reply