Chaos in Imola as Lewis Hamilton suffers in DOUBLE Di…read more
Qualifying for the 2025 Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix at Imola devolved into bedlam on Saturday, serving up red-flag interruptions, surprise eliminations and a pole-position duel that went to the wire—yet nothing stunned the partisan crowd more than ferrari’s double ejection in Q2 on home asphalt.
From dawn, swathes of tifosi decked the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari in scarlet, convinced that Charles Leclerc and brand-new signing Lewis Hamilton would duel for pole. Instead they witnessed a nightmare in real time. Midway through Q2, Aston Martin gambled: both Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll abandoned the softs, strapped on the mediums and hit the track early, banking on clearer air and rapidly improving grip. Their audacious call stuck. As the asphalt rubbered in, Alonso blasted to fifth and Stroll to eighth. Moments later the chequered flag fell, and Ferrari’s hopes fell with it—Leclerc was edged out by mere hundredths, Hamilton only a whisper slower. Two red cars stranded in 11th and 12th left grandstands hushed in disbelief.
Up front the battle for pole produced fireworks. McLaren rookie Oscar Piastri pieced together a spellbinding 1:14.670, milking every millimetre through Variante Alta before nailing the Rivazza exits. Max Verstappen, chasing another record-extending pole, fell just 0.034 s short. George Russell muscled his Mercedes into third, one tenth adrift, while Lando Norris salvaged fourth after a messy final sector deprived him of the front row.
Yet the headline acts had serious company. Williams delivered its most luminous qualifying in over a decade. Carlos Sainz, thriving since defecting from Ferrari, powered to sixth, with Alex Albon slotting in seventh—an FW47 double-top-eight that ratified the Grove outfit’s ambitious winter overhaul and a chassis tailor-made for Imola’s razor-sharp direction changes. Aston Martin’s earlier gamble left Alonso fifth and Stroll eighth, rounding out the top eight alongside rookie Isack Hadjar, who once again squeezed his Racing Bulls into Q3, and Pierre Gasly in a hastily repaired Alpine.
The session travelled a tortuous road to that provisional grid. Only minutes into Q1, Yuki Tsunoda pinballed his Red Bull off the Variante Villeneuve curbs, spearing into the Tecpro and triggering a red flag. Though the Japanese driver walked away, the pause intensified pressure on anyone still without a banker lap. As mechanics prised bent suspension from Tsunoda’s RB21, teams recalibrated run plans.
Q2 descended into further disarray. Alpine rookie Franco Colapinto was released before the FIA confirmed the restart following Tsunoda’s crash—a procedural lapse virtually guaranteeing a grid penalty. Worse followed: with his tyres barely up to temperature, the Argentine lost the A525 through Piratella and annihilated the chassis against the outside wall. A second red flag froze the clocks with seconds on the board, dooming several drivers—Ferrari included—to one shot on a cooling circuit.
Collateral damage extended to Haas newcomer Ollie Bearman. The Briton completed what he believed was a lifesaving lap under the first stoppage, only for stewards to scrutinise high-speed video and deem he crossed the line milliseconds after red lights. His time was scrubbed, echoing the identical micro-infraction that cost Russell dearly at Imola last season. Russell offered sympathy even as he celebrated third on the grid.
When calm finally returned, the top ten read: Piastri, Verstappen, Russell, Norris, Alonso, Sainz, Albon, Stroll, Hadjar and Gasly. Behind them lurk the wounded Ferraris, two angry red torpedoes plotting a Sunday fight-back, while Aston Martin must convert tyre derring-do into tangible points. Williams suddenly sniffs its first podium since 2017; McLaren senses a chance to cement its renaissance; and Verstappen, boxed in by a first-time pole-sitter, will attack at lights out with trademark ferocity.
Strategically, the race promises intrigue. Tyre degradation at Imola is typically moderate, but overnight rain is forecast, threatening a damp track and volatile crossover points between slicks and intermediates. Ferrari may elect an aggressive two-stop to slice through traffic. Mercedes, armed with Russell’s front-row start and Hamilton’s free-tyre choice in P12, could split strategies. Aston Martin’s mediums prove they can think left-field. And McLaren must decide whether to shield Piastri or pit him early to pre-empt the undercut.
Imola has already upended expectations; Sunday’s 63-lap showdown could yet spring more curveballs. For now, Oscar Piastri owns the spotlight, Ferrari nurses bruises, and a season already brimming with plotlines tightens another dramatic screw.
