Day 2 of the 2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix gave us a glimpse of what the pecking order would be come race day, and not only that, we’ve had 2 of the biggest crashes of the season back to back. Want to find out more? Let us here at Supercars.com.GH explain!
FP3
As with any Grand Prix Saturday, the day started off with FP3, the final opportunity for teams to fine-tune their cars ahead of the crucial qualifying session at Imola. Lando Norris ultimately set the fastest time, pipping his McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri to the top spot. Max Verstappen, in the Red Bull, managed to slot into third, making him the only non-McLaren driver within two-tenths of the leading pair. There were moments for several drivers, including Liam Lawson’s 360-degree spin and off-track trips for Verstappen and Piastri, highlighting the challenging nature of the Imola circuit.
Home favourite Kimi Antonelli showed impressive pace, finishing fourth for Mercedes, while Leclerc rounded out the top five. Carlos Sainz placed his Williams in sixth, followed by Hadjar, George Russell, Alex Albon, and Hamilton completing the top ten. Yuki Tsunoda voiced his frustration with a lack of pace in his Red Bull, while Aston Martin adopted a different strategy, focusing on gathering data on the hard tyre. Norris also had a brief trip through the gravel.
Qualifying
For the 3rd time this season, qualifying was topped by Oscar Piastri, but not without significant drama at the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix. The session was halted early on by two red flags in Q1. First, Yuki Tsunoda suffered a heavy crash, damaging his upgraded Red Bull. Later in the same session, Franco Colapinto, in his first F1 outing for Alpine, also crashed out.
Despite these interruptions, Max Verstappen showed improved pace, topping Q1. However, in a surprising Q2, Carlos Sainz delivered a stellar final lap to go fastest, while both Ferrari drivers, Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton, along with Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli, were shockingly eliminated. Aston Martin’s strategic use of medium tyres saw both Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll advanced into Q3.
The final shootout saw Piastri and Norris initially set the pace for McLaren, but Verstappen briefly snatched provisional pole. Ultimately, Piastri found another gear on his final run, clocking a 1m 14.670s to secure pole position, edging out Verstappen. George Russell claimed third, with Norris in fourth. Alonso, again on mediums, took fifth, followed by the impressive Williams duo of Sainz and Albon. Stroll, Hadjar, and Gasly completed the top ten, leaving Ferrari and Antonelli to start further down the grid.
How will these results translate into the race tommorow? Join Supercars.com.GH tommorow to find out!