Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc failed to progress into the final part of qualifying for the Imola Grand Prix, with Ferrari disappointing their home fans.
Aston Martin took a bold tyre decision in Q2 to go out on medium compound tyres and were rewarded with sixth and seventh, knocking out both Ferraris in the dramatic final moments of the session.
Max Verstappen was pipped to pole by Oscar Piastri by just 34 thousandths of a second, with George Russell slotting into third ahead of Lando Norris after another untidy lap from the second McLaren driver.
Yuki Tsunoda was knocked out of qualifying early, after a scary crash which red flagged the session.
Tsunoda walked away from the crash apparently unharmed, but his mechanics will have a tough job on their hands to repair the wreckage of his car before Sunday's race.
Meanwhile, Franco Colapinto looks likely to be penalised after being released from his garage before a post-red flag restart time had been announced by the FIA, with George Russell getting a one-place penalty for a similar incident in the past.
The session was red flagged for a second time with just seconds to go when Colapinto demolished his Alpine, getting gingerly out of the car as the session ended early.
There was a long gap between Q1 and Q2, with stewards needing to fix the barriers after Colapinto's crash before there was a further delay as the FIA reviewed Ollie Bearman's final lap, which was deleted for being finished under a red flag – an incredibly marginal call which was pored over frame by frame.