Championship leader Oscar Piastri kept his cool under intense pressure Saturday, producing a near-perfect lap to snatch pole position for McLaren at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.
The 24-year-old Australian posted a blistering time of 1 minute, 14.670 seconds, navigating traffic at the final corner to edge the four-time world champion by 0.34 seconds.
In a qualifying session marred by two red flags and lengthy delays, Piastri secured his third pole of both the season and his career.
McLaren teammate Lando Norris, who trails Piastri by 16 points in the drivers’ standings, will start fourth behind Mercedes’ George Russell. Aston Martin’s two-time champion Fernando Alonso rounded out the top five.
Carlos Sainz of Williams was sixth, ahead of teammate Alex Albon; Lance Stroll in the second Aston Martin; Racing Bulls rookie Isack Hadjar; and Pierre Gasly of Alpine.
The Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton failed to reach Q3 and qualified 11th and 12th, respectively, ahead of local favorite Kimi Antonelli in the second Mercedes.
“It was a great session – very tough with the delays and red flags and the tricky tires,” Piastri said.
“The team did a great job and got the car in a nice window. We've been trying a few different things this weekend, and we got into a nice place for qualifying.”
Verstappen was satisfied despite missing out on his third consecutive pole.
“It was a good day for us,” he said, a sentiment echoed by Russell. “We could not have achieved much more here today,” the British driver said.
The session began in spectacular fashion under glorious spring sunshine when Yuki Tsunoda walked away from a dramatic high-speed crash.
He lost control of his Racing Bulls car after riding the curbs at Variante Villeneuve, sending the car airborne into a barrel roll before slamming into the barriers upside down.
Action resumed after a 12-minute delay to repair the circuit, only to be halted again in the final seconds of Q1 when rookie Franco Colapinto – replacing Jack Doohan for Alpine – crashed at the exit of Tamburello.
Colapinto’s car was heavily damaged as he spun into the barriers nose-first, but he was uninjured and walked away from the wreckage.
Verstappen topped Q1, ahead of Piastri and Alonso, with Liam Lawson of Racing Bulls, Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg, and the two Haas cars of Esteban Ocon and Oliver Bearman eliminated along with Tsunoda.
Bearman’s late lap time was canceled and marked “under review” as Q2 was delayed, hinting at a possible reinstatement to replace Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto.
Both drivers waited in their cars until the decision was finalized. Bortoleto eventually drove out alone to the pit lane, and Bearman conceded his Q2 place and exited his car.
In the first Q2 run, McLaren returned to the top – two-tenths clear of Verstappen – before a dramatic late charge saw Sainz go fastest, while Aston Martin’s drivers knocked out both Ferraris.
“My God. Oh my God. My God,” Leclerc exclaimed after qualifying 11th. Hamilton followed in 12th, with Antonelli and Bortoleto rounding out the Q2 exits.
In the final shootout, Piastri took the early lead before Verstappen edged him by 0.049 seconds on the initial laps. Norris slotted into third ahead of Russell and the impressive rookie Hadjar.
But Piastri stormed back with a second flying lap to seal pole.
