Oscar Piastri clinched pole position for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix ahead of Max Verstappen, but the big stories were all found in the back half of the grid.

Yuki Tsunoda and Franco Colapinto brought out red flags as they suffered huge crashes in Q1, while Italian hopes were wiped out in Q2 when both Ferrari drivers and Kimi Antonelli were eliminated.

Yuki Tsunoda and Franco Colapinto suffer huge Q1 crashes

Qualifying got underway with Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto eager to lay down a marker on a circuit where traffic can be bothersome.

Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso and Alex Albon all had a turn in P1 and looked set to lose out to Max Verstappen when the session was red-flagged for a huge shunt for his Red Bull team-mate Yuki Tsunoda.

Bottoming out, his RB21 went spinning backwards into the tyre barrier where he was catapulted onto the top of the barrier, the car rolling along it before landing heavily upside down before flipping over onto its wheels.

Tsunoda climbed unaided from the car and was taken to the track’s medical centre for checks.

The session resumed after a red flag period with Verstappen going quickest, a 1:15.1 for the Dutchman. That put him three-tenths up on Oscar Piastri while Fernando Alonso was up in third place with five minutes remaining.

Kimi Antonelli wasn’t impressed with Hulkenberg “impeding” him in the pit lane, the Italian P8 but only three-tenths safe from the drop zone. But as the FIA announced no further investigation on the Sauber driver, he ran wide at the final corner and ruined his chance of making it out of Q1.

Franco Colapinto put paid to anyone improving their lap times as he brought out the red flag in the final 30 seconds, as he crashed hard at Tamburello. He touched the grass over the kerb at the exit of Turn 3, spun off the track and slammed nose-first into the barrier. He told Alpine he was okay.

The drivers eliminated: Liam Lawson, Nico Hulkenberg, Esteban Ocon, Oliver Bearman, Yuki Tsunoda

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Italian hope wiped out in triple Q2 exit

There was some confusion over Bearman as Haas felt he had crossed the line before the red flag with a lap time good enough for Q2.

But as Q2 began after a lengthy delay, it was Gabriel Bortoleto who was the first driver out on track having made it through in 15th place.

Verstappen set the early pace ahead of the Ferrari team-mates of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton but it was all change as the McLaren team-mates put in their opening gambit. Piastri went P1 with a 1:15.241, two-hundredths ahead of Norris.

Pierre Gasly, down in 12th place, was frustrated with one of the Aston Martins: “Nice job from the Aston Martin,” he told Alpine. “What’s the name of the smart guy in the Aston? I’ll remember him.”

Putting in a second run, Carlos Sainz went quickest with a 1:15.198, finishing Q2 ahead of the McLaren team-mates. As drivers improved, Italian hopes began to plummet as Ferrari and Antonelli fell into the drop zone where they were eliminated.

The drivers eliminated: Charles Leclerc, Lewis Hamilton, Kimi Antonelli, Gabriel Bortoleto, Franco Colapinto.

Oscar Piastri pips Max Verstappen to pole position

Heading into the all-important pole position shootout with huge drama behind them, McLaren and Verstappen traded purple sector times as they fought over P1.

Norris went fast, Piastri went faster, and Verstappen went fastest. A 1:14.722 for the Red Bull driver. The leading trio were separated by 0.19s.

Russell lined up behind them, ahead of Isack Hadjar and Lance Stroll.

Back out for a second run, Russell bolted on a set of medium tyres as did Alonso. The rest of the top ten were on fresh soft Pirellis.

Piastri upped his pace to overhaul Verstappen, Norris had a bit of a messy lap and stayed third. And then came Verstappen, up in the first sector, down in the second, and he feel short by 0.034s. Russell jumped up to third on the soft tyres, dropping Norris to fourth.

Alonso finished fourth ahead of Sainz, Alex Albon, Stroll, Hadjar and Gasly.

Emilia Romagna Qualy times

1 Oscar Piastri McLaren 1:14.670
2 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing +0.034
3 George Russell Mercedes +0.137
4 Lando Norris McLaren +0.292
5 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin +0.761
6 Carlos Sainz Williams +0.762
7 Alexander Albon Williams +0.803
8 Lance Stroll Aston Martin +0.911
9 Isack Hadjar Racing Bulls +1.076
10 Pierre Gasly Alpine +1.117
11 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:15.604
12 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari 1:15.765
13 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 1:15.777
14 Gabriel Bortoleto Sauber 1:16.260
15 Franco Colapinto Alpine no time
16 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls 1:16.379
17 Nico Hulkenberg Sauber 1:16.518
18 Esteban Ocon Haas 1:16.613
19 Oliver Bearman Haas 1:16.918
20 Yuki Tsunoda Red Bull no time

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