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.
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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.
F1 Qualifying Results: Imola Grand Prix 2025
Position |
Driver |
Team |
Time/Status |
1 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | 1:14.670 |
2 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | +0.034s |
3 | George Russell | Mercedes | +0.137s |
4 | Lando Norris | McLaren | +0.292s |
5 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | +0.761s |
6 | Carlos Sainz | Williams | +0.762s |
7 | Alex Albon | Williams | +0.803s |
8 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | +0.911s |
9 | Isack Hadjar | Racing Bulls | +1.076s |
10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | +1.117s |
11 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | OUT IN Q2 |
12 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | OUT IN Q2 |
13 | Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | OUT IN Q2 |
14 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Sauber | OUT IN Q2 |
15 | Franco Colapinto | Alpine | OUT IN Q2 |
16 | Liam Lawson | Racing Bulls | OUT IN Q1 |
17 | Nico Hulkenberg | Sauber | OUT IN Q1 |
18 | Esteban Ocon | Haas | OUT IN Q1 |
19 | Ollie Bearman | Haas | OUT IN Q1 |
20 | Yuki Tsunoda | Red Bull | OUT IN Q1 |
How does F1 Qualifying work?
The qualifying session is split into three finite windows, which provide a dramatic prelude to Sunday's race.
The bottom five drivers are eliminated at the end of Q1, with a further five eliminated after Q2.
Then, Q3 gives us a shootout between the remaining 10 drivers in the battle for positions at the front of the grid.
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