Formula One chief Oscar Piastri put his McLaren on pole place for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Imola on Saturday with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen becoming a member of the Australian on the entrance row.
George Russell certified third for Mercedes with McLaren’s Lando Norris fourth in a session that was twice red-flagged after Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda and Alpine’s Franco Colapinto crashed within the first part.
The pole, with a time of 1 minute 14.670 seconds, was Piastri’s third of the season as he chases a fifth win in seven races and fourth in a row to stretch his 16-point lead over Norris.
Ferrari suffered a brand new low in entrance of their house followers, with Charles Leclerc qualifying eleventh and Lewis Hamilton twelfth within the seven-times world champion’s first race in Italy for the Maranello-based group.
“My God, my God,” exclaimed Leclerc over the group radio because the realisation sunk in.
“Sorry guys, I can’t improve for some reason,” stated Hamilton.
Mercedes’ Italian rookie and native hero Kimi Antonelli additionally did not make the highest 10 and can line up solely thirteenth.
Fernando Alonso will line up fifth for Aston Martin, a formidable turnaround for a group that has struggled this season, and Williams pair Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon have been sixth and seventh quickest.
Canadian Lance Stroll made it two Astons within the prime 10 with eighth on the grid, adopted by Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly.
Tsunoda and Colapinto, the latter returning to the grid instead of dropped Australian Jack Doohan, have been each taken to the medical centre for checks after crashes.
The Red Bull driver’s crash led to a 15-minute delay for monitor repairs and purple flags have been waved once more when Colapinto went onto the grass approaching Tamburello and misplaced management, spinning and hitting the barrier head on.
Source: www.anews.com.tr