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Piastri pips Verstappen to Emilia-Romagna F1 GP pole after huge Tsunoda crash

Oscar Piastri claimed pole position for the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix with a superb lap for McLaren at Imola during a session marked by two huge accidents involving Yuki Tsunoda and Franco Colapinto and by a shock early exit for both the Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton at their home race.

Piastri beat Red Bull’s Max Verstappen into second place by just 0.034sec in what was a closely-fought qualifying session at the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari. Mercedes’ George Russell was in third, Piastri’s McLaren teammate Lando Norris in fourth and Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso in fifth.

Ferrari however endured a shocker at their first home race of the season with both Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton going out in 11th and 12th in Q2.

The session was marked first by a huge, dangerous accident for Red Bull’s Tsunoda who crashed out with a major impact at the Villeneuve Chicane during Q1. He took too much kerb on the way in, spun before hitting the barriers backwards. The impact threw his car up and nearly over the tyre wall in which process it flipped entirely over, before just smashing back into the ground but fortunately upright and on the track side of the barriers. He emerged appearing unhurt but was taken to be examined in the medical centre.

However after the session had restarted and with just seconds remaining in Q1, Colapinto, making his debut for Alpine, went wide putting his left-rear wheel off at the exit of Tamburello. As he lost the rear the car spun repeatedly and hurtled across the gravel trap before slamming into the barrier, entering front first with a jarring impact. He too was unhurt but apologetic at his error and the session was once more stopped to enact repairs