F1 Qualifying Report & Results 2025 Emilia Romagna GP

Event: Emilia Romagna F1 GP
Track: Autodromo Imola

Weather: dry  19°C
Tarmac: dry  40°C
Humidity: 31%
Wind: 12.5 km/h

Oscar Piastri qualified as quickest for the 3rd time today. The McLaren driver scored pole position for tomorrow's Emilia Romagna Formula 1 Grand Prix. It was also his he 3rd pole of the season for the Australian driver and the 168th pole for the McLaren F1 team.

Piastri Stuns Imola with Pole as Chaos and Crashes Rock Qualifying

Oscar Piastri grabbed his third pole of the season after a dramatic and red-flag riddled Qualifying session at the 2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. McLaren shined, Red Bull faltered, and Ferrari suffered heartbreak at home as Imola delivered another classic Saturday.

🚨 Q1: Red Flags and Rollercoaster Drama

Q1 was absolute carnage.

Yuki Tsunoda brought out the red flags early after a terrifying crash at Turn 6 saw his RB flip over and slam the barriers. Thankfully, he emerged unscathed but will start tomorrow at the stewards’ discretion.

Minutes later, Franco Colapinto spun off in Tamburello after dipping a wheel on the grass. His Alpine sustained heavy damage, ending his day and triggering another red flag. Earlier, the Argentine rookie also committed a pit lane violation by entering the fast lane too early—a mistake likely to result in a grid penalty.

The elimination list read like a who’s who of midfield potential: Liam Lawson (P16), Nico Hülkenberg (P17), Esteban Ocon (P18), Oliver Bearman (P19), and Tsunoda (P20).

🧨 Q2: Big Names Tumble, Aston Martin Gambles Pay Off

Q2 was full of surprises—most of them painful for the tifosi. Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton both failed to make the cut. The Ferrari ace found no grip and couldn’t hook up a lap when it mattered most, while Hamilton ran wide and paid the price. Both were eliminated alongside home hero Kimi Antonelli, rookie Gabriel Bortoleto, and Franco Colapinto, whose session was over before it began due to a Q1 crash.

Aston Martin’s strategy masterstroke—saving two sets of mediums—allowed both Alonso and Stroll to make it through on the optimal tyre, making them the only team in Q3 without having used softs exclusively. That could prove decisive come race day.

🔥 Q3: Piastri Triumphs in the Mayhem

Just when it looked like Max Verstappen had done enough, Oscar Piastri delivered a sensational lap—1:14.670—to snatch pole by a mere 0.034s from the reigning champ. That came despite a chaotic final sector where the Aussie encountered a train of cars into Rivazza. The McLaren driver, racing with Italian pride thanks to his heritage, was unfazed and powered through for his first pole since Bahrain.

George Russell’s bold choice to run mediums in Q3 nearly paid off. The Mercedes driver clocked in third, just ahead of Lando Norris in fourth, who had a shaky final sector. Fernando Alonso’s strategy-savvy Aston Martin clinched P5 after an inspired run on scrubbed mediums, with Carlos Sainz just behind in sixth.

Rounding out the top ten were Albon (P7), Stroll (P8), rookie Isack Hadjar with a sensational P9, and Pierre Gasly sneaking into P10.

⚙️ Strategy Surprises and Tyre Tricks

Tyres were a major talking point all weekend, with Pirelli's C6 compound proving puzzling. In an unusual twist, the medium tyre (C5) was often faster than the soft, especially on a warm and greasy Imola track.

That left teams gambling on tyre strategies. Russell’s medium tyre gamble nearly landed him on the front row, while Aston Martin made full use of their medium sets across Q1 and Q2 to lock out valuable grid positions.

With overtaking notoriously difficult at Imola, grid position could be more valuable than a fresh set of rubber on Sunday.

📉 Ferrari Falters at Home

It was a brutal day for Ferrari fans. Leclerc's brake issues persisted and his SF-24 never looked planted. Antonelli, meanwhile, felt the weight of expectation in front of his home crowd and couldn’t replicate the magic from Miami. With Sainz as the sole Prancing Horse in Q3—and only in P6—hopes of a heroic home pole quickly turned to damage limitation.

🔍 Eyes on the Midfield

Williams quietly impressed again, with both Albon and Hadjar reaching Q3. The Grove-based team is now establishing itself as a consistent upper-midfield threat. Alpine also returned to form with Gasly making it into the final shootout, though the Colapinto crash will keep the mechanics busy well into the night.

🏁 What's Next?

With Piastri on pole, Verstappen lurking, and Russell hunting from P3, Sunday’s race promises fireworks. Will the tyre deg and track temperature open the door for a two-stop strategy? Or will grid position decide it all?

One thing’s for sure—Oscar Piastri has half a foot on the top step. But with Verstappen and Norris breathing down his neck, he’ll need to deliver another flawless performance.

Lights out at 15:00 local time. Strap in. Imola’s about to erupt.

Qualifying Times 2025 E. Romagna GP

1:14.746 was the quickest lap time of qualifying last year, set by Max Verstappen with the Red Bull RB20.

✅ Check out our 2025 Emilia Romagna Formula 1 Grand Prix preview.

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