F1 at Imola: Qualifying results, starting grid after 2 big crashes, tire gambles

It's looking like Oscar Piastri's to lose these days.

Piastri took pole for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Imola, pipping Max Verstappen by just a few hundredths of a second.

It was a messy session, specifically in Q1, where Yuki Tsunoda went off at turn 6, causing his car to flip as it hit the barriers.

Then, in the closing moments of Q1, Franco Colapinto, on debut for Alpine in place of Jack Doohan, went off in between turns 3 and 4 when his car clipped the grass.

To add to the messiness, the period between the crash and the red flag, which ended the first session, caused some controversy. Ollie Bearman appeared to put in a time to get him into Q2 right at the buzzer, knocking out Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto. Drivers sat around for an extended amount of time trying to figure out who would get the go-ahead to advance, and even with seconds to go, it didn't seem clear. Eventually, Bearman's time was disallowed and Bortoleto continued on.

It was a brutal Q2 for Italy as a whole: Both Ferrari cars and Italy's own Kimi Antonelli knocked out. Ferrari's pace looked poor, as their 2025 outlook continues to get bleaker.

Q3 saw a rough effort from Lando Norris, leaving it to be Piastri vs. Verstappen vs. George Russell, who took a gamble on the mediums. It was a move inspired by Aston Martin doing the same thing in Q2, which worked out well for Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso.

Russell put up an impressive lap just over a tenth out on the mediums, but it was ultimately Piastri taking his third pole of 2025 as he seeks to extend his championship advantage.

The grand prix gets going Sunday at 9 a.m. Eastern in the U.S., 2 p.m. in London.

Emilia Romagna Qualifying Results/Starting Grid