McLaren’s Oscar Piastri takes pole position for Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix
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McLaren's Oscar Piastri during qualifying for the 2025 Emilia Romagna Formula One Grand Prix.
AFP
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IMOLA – Formula One leader Oscar Piastri put his McLaren on pole position for the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix on May 17, with Red Bull’s four-time world champion Max Verstappen joining the Australian on the front row at Imola.
George Russell qualified third for Mercedes, with McLaren’s Lando Norris fourth in a session that was twice red-flagged after Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda and Alpine’s Franco Colapinto crashed in the first phase.
“It was a very tough session with all the delays, the red flags. And then also the tyres, they’ve been very tricky today,” said Piastri.
“The team did a great job, got the car into a nice window. We’ve been trying a few different things this weekend and we got it into a nice place for qualifying.
“The lap was good. I had about four cars in the last corner, which didn’t help, but it was enough. So, very happy with the job I’ve done and excited for tomorrow now.”
The major incident of qualifying came when Tsunoda crashed heavily and was taken to the Imola circuit medical centre for checks.
The session was halted for repairs to the tyre barriers.
The Japanese careered off the track and smashed backwards into the tyre wall at Turn 5, his car lifting into the air with the impact.
It then flipped before landing upside down on the roll hoop and righting itself again. He was able to climb out of the wreckage and appeared to be unhurt.
“Oh my god! I just saw the video. Is he OK?” exclaimed Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson, who lost the Red Bull seat to Tsunoda earlier this season, over the team radio after images were shown on the big screens.
The session resumed after a 15-minute break but red flags were waved again when Colapinto, the Argentinian preparing for his Alpine debut as replacement for dropped Australian Jack Doohan, crashed. But like Tsunoda, he avoided any serious injury.
Verstappen, meanwhile, is looking forward to challenging Piastri in the main race on May 18.
“I hope we pick up a bit of pace, have a bit more of a stable car, and hopefully we can look after our tyres a bit better,” said the Dutchman.
“The race is tomorrow, that is where you score the points, so that is where we have to focus on. But today was a very good day for us.”
Piastri leads the drivers’ standings on 131 points, ahead of teammate Norris (115) and Verstappen (99). Russell is fourth on 93 points.
The Briton said after qualifying third: “We were going for it. We thought maybe the medium tyre would be a fast one, and it turned out to be a good choice. Of course, a small compromise for tomorrow, but it was worth it to be back in the top three.
“Really happy with the performance – very close to Oscar. It’s always a surprise when you’re so close to the McLaren because they’re so quick at the moment.”
Behind the front four, Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso was fifth, ahead of the Williams duo of Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon. His teammate Lance Stroll qualified eighth, while Isack Hadjar of Racing Bulls and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly rounded out the top 10. AFP, REUTERS
