Emilia Romagna Grand Prix: Oscar Piastri steals pole position from Max Verstappen

McLaren driver delivered a flawless lap to beat Red Bull driver’s time by just 0.034 seconds

McLaren driver Oscar Piastri during qualifying at the Enzo and Dino Ferrari racetrack in Imola, Italy. AP

Oscar Piastri claimed pole position in a dramatic qualifying session for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix as Lewis Hamilton suffered an early exit in his first home race for Ferrari and Yuki Tsunoda walked away from a major crash.

Piastri delivered a flawless lap when it mattered to beat Max Verstappen’s time by just 0.034 seconds, after the Dutchman surged to the top of the charts in pursuit of a third successive pole.

Lando Norris could manage only fourth for McLaren – over three tenths off the pole pace – after being edged out at the last by George Russell, who will start from third for Mercedes.

Piastri holds a 16-point lead over Norris in the drivers’ championship heading into this weekend after winning the last three races and four of the first six this season.

Verstappen is a further 16 points behind Norris following a dominant one-two for McLaren in Miami a fortnight ago and may face a tough task to keep Norris at bay on Sunday.

"It was a great session, very tough with the delays and red flags and the tricky tyres," said Piastri.

"The team did a great job and got the car in a nice window, we've been trying a few different things this weekend and we got into a nice place for qualifying."

“The lap was good. I had about four cars in the last corner, which didn’t help, but it was enough. Very, very happy with a job well done and excited for tomorrow now.”

Hamilton had expressed excitement and expectation ahead of his first home race weekend as a Ferrari driver but his Saturday ended in bitter disappointment after he was knocked out in the second part of qualifying.

The 40-year-old had struggled in practice and the Scuderia’s difficult start to the season reached a new low on home soil as Hamilton and teammate Charles Leclerc suffered an early exit.

Leclerc qualified 11th with Hamilton 12th.

“I’m sorry guys, I can’t improve for some reason,” Hamilton said on the team radio.

“My God, my God, my God,” was Leclerc’s verdict.

In further disappointment for the home crowd, Italian Kimi Antonelli could manage only 13th for Mercedes.

Tsunoda skidded across the gravel on the exit of the Villeneuve chicane in the first part of qualifying, with his car crashing into the barriers before being lifted into the air, flipping over before landing upside down and righting itself.

The 25-year-old quickly jumped out of the car, with Red Bull confirming that he was OK and heading for the medical centre.

The opening session was red-flagged for 15 minutes while repairs were made to the tyre barrier.

It was then also brought to an early halt when Franco Colapinto, in his first race back in Formula One after replacing Jack Doohan at Alpine, dipped a wheel into the gravel on the exit of Tamburello and spun into the barriers.

The Argentine was cleared after a visit to the medical centre.

Imola is a track steeped in history but also tragedy, with Roland Ratzenberger and Ayrton Senna dying after crashes during the race weekend in 1994. It returned to the F1 calendar in 2020 after a 14-year hiatus.