As the Qualifying session for the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix came to a close, Oscar Piastri stood on top of the timing sheets with a 1:14.670, just three hundredths of a second ahead of Max Verstappen in the Red Bull.
The session itself lasted for over 90 minutes, thanks to several interruptions throughout. While the McLarens were the favourites for pole, Lando Norris was not able to meet expectations as he qualified only 4th for the Grand Prix.
Oscar Piastri delivers under pressure in Imola Qualifying
The Qualifying session at Imola is always crucial. During the race, it is extremely challenging to overtake another car as there is only one DRS zone, leaving only one obvious opportunity. Hence, there was pressure on every driver on the grid to secure a strong starting position for the race.
Piastri delivered under pressure with an impressive lap that beat Verstappen’s initial lap in Q3, which gave him provisional pole position. Although the Dutch driver improved on his second run, it was not enough to beat Piastri’s final lap time.
George Russell took 3rd place while taking on the medium tyres for his final lap of the session. While this was a risky move, it paid off as he improved on his initial lap time and beat Norris.
A mixed-up grid for Sunday’s race 👀#F1 #ImolaGP pic.twitter.com/SlTG30UOi6
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 17, 2025
The home heroes, Ferrari and Kimi Antonelli, were nowhere in the top 10. They were all knocked out in Q2 by the Aston Martins, who had gambled on the medium tyres. Both the British green cars were the biggest surprise of the evening as they will be starting 5th (Alonso) and 8th (Stroll) on the grid for tomorrow.
Williams continues to impress with Sainz starting 6th, with his teammate right behind him. Hadjar (9th) and Gasly (10th) completed the top 10 as the Ferraris prepare to have a challenging race on Sunday.
Heading into the race, all eyes are going to be on the drivers on the front row. It is a long way to the first braking zone, so it could be anyone’s game.
Big crashes for Yuki Tsunoda and Franco Colapinto
Both Yuki Tsunoda and Franco Colapinto suffered session-ending crashes in Q1. Luckily, both drivers were okay. Tsunoda’s crash was slightly more scary to watch than Colapinoto’s as his car was flipped as he overrode the kerb in the Villeneuve Chicane.
Red Bull will have a late night after qualifying as they prepare to piece Tsunoda’s RB21 back together. He will most likely start from the pit lane.
Grateful to see Yuki Tsunoda walk away from this enormous shunt in Q1#F1 #ImolaGP pic.twitter.com/hsviPlI66P
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 17, 2025
Colapinto’s crash was slightly milder and should be okay to go out for the race on Sunday. However, if there is any damage to the engine or gearbox, they might need to replace them, which will trigger a pitlane start.
Colapinto’s crash came at an inconvenient time for Haas, as Oliver Bearman had posted a time that put him into Q2 just as the incident occurred further ahead on the track. This sent the FIA into an investigation to understand if Bearman completed the lap in time or not. But as Q2 started, the young Briton was out of the car.
Aston Martin and George Russell will have a compromised race
As indicated during FP3, the medium tyres had much better pace than the soft tyres. Both the Aston Martins and George Russell were the only ones to use medium tyres during the qualifying session. With all the teams struggling to maintain tyre temperatures on the C6 soft tyres, Aston Martin found pace in the medium tyres in Q2. Russell went on to do the same during Q3 for his final lap. This allowed them to qualify higher than expected with Russell in P3, Alonso in P5, and Stroll in P8.
Great work from Fernando and Lance 👏👏#F1 #ImolaGP @AstonMartinF1 pic.twitter.com/nXRQedmFRO
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 17, 2025
While this gamble may have paid off in the qualifying session, they have compromised their race strategy. Since they have already used their medium tyres, they will have that many fewer for the race tomorrow, which could force them to use soft tyres that will not perform well in the race.
So the Aston Martins and Russell will need to adjust their strategy and go racing while defending against a faster car behind them.
What are your bold race predictions for the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix? Post them in the comments section below.
