Imola (Italy), May 17 (IANS) McLaren’s Oscar Piastri delivered a stunning lap in the dying moments of Qualifying to clinch pole position for the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix 2025 here on Saturday. The Australian upstaged Red Bull’s reigning World Champion Max Verstappen and Mercedes’ George Russell in a chaotic and incident-packed session.

Verstappen looked set to continue his dominant run after leading the initial Q3 laps, but Piastri produced a blistering 1m 14.670s on his final run, edging out the Dutchman by just three hundredths of a second.

George Russell impressed by taking third, despite opting for medium tyres rather than the grippier softs for his final attempt. Lando Norris could only manage fourth in the other McLaren, while Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso rounded out the top five.

There were surprises deeper in the field, with Williams’ Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon shining in sixth and seventh. Lance Stroll, Racing Bulls rookie Isack Hadjar, and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly completed the top 10.

It was a qualifying session to forget for Ferrari at their home race. Both Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton, who reported persistent brake issues during practice, failed to make it to Q3 and will start 11th and 12th. Hometown favourite Kimi Antonelli couldn’t match teammate Russell and was 13th.

Alpine’s Franco Colapinto advanced to Q2 on pace but was sidelined after a heavy crash in Q1, which brought out red flags and left his team with overnight repairs to deal with.

Haas endured a difficult day as Esteban Ocon and rookie Ollie Bearman both exited in Q1. Bearman’s best lap came just seconds too late following Colapinto’s crash.

The session’s biggest scare came from Yuki Tsunoda, who suffered a high-speed crash and barrel roll early in Q1. Thankfully, he escaped unscathed, though his Red Bull sustained significant damage.

All eyes now turn to Sunday, with Piastri leading the grid into what promises to be a thrilling race at Imola.

–IANS

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