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.
Jewel of the Expo 2020
252 projectors installed on Al Wasl dome
13.6km of steel used in the structure that makes it equal in length to 16 Burj Khalifas
550 tonnes of moulded steel were raised last year to cap the dome
724,000 cubic metres is the space it encloses
Stands taller than the leaning tower of Pisa
Steel trellis dome is one of the largest single structures on site
The size of 16 tennis courts and weighs as much as 500 elephants
Al Wasl means connection in Arabic
World’s largest 360-degree projection surface
Ipaf in numbers
Established: 2008
Prize money: $50,000 (Dh183,650) for winners and $10,000 for those on the shortlist.
Winning novels: 13
Shortlisted novels: 66
Longlisted novels: 111
Total number of novels submitted: 1,780
Novels translated internationally: 66
BULKWHIZ PROFILE
Date started: February 2017
Founders: Amira Rashad (CEO), Yusuf Saber (CTO), Mahmoud Sayedahmed (adviser), Reda Bouraoui (adviser)
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: E-commerce
Size: 50 employees
Funding: approximately $6m
Investors: Beco Capital, Enabling Future and Wain in the UAE; China's MSA Capital; 500 Startups; Faith Capital and Savour Ventures in Kuwait
THE BIO
Age: 30
Favourite book: The Power of Habit
Favourite quote: "The world is full of good people, if you cannot find one, be one"
Favourite exercise: The snatch
Favourite colour: Blue
How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
- Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
- Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
- Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
- Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
- Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
- The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
- Dubai English Speaking School – Dh51,269
*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year
What is blockchain?
Blockchain is a form of distributed ledger technology, a digital system in which data is recorded across multiple places at the same time. Unlike traditional databases, DLTs have no central administrator or centralised data storage. They are transparent because the data is visible and, because they are automatically replicated and impossible to be tampered with, they are secure.
The main difference between blockchain and other forms of DLT is the way data is stored as ‘blocks’ – new transactions are added to the existing ‘chain’ of past transactions, hence the name ‘blockchain’. It is impossible to delete or modify information on the chain due to the replication of blocks across various locations.
Blockchain is mostly associated with cryptocurrency Bitcoin. Due to the inability to tamper with transactions, advocates say this makes the currency more secure and safer than traditional systems. It is maintained by a network of people referred to as ‘miners’, who receive rewards for solving complex mathematical equations that enable transactions to go through.
However, one of the major problems that has come to light has been the presence of illicit material buried in the Bitcoin blockchain, linking it to the dark web.
Other blockchain platforms can offer things like smart contracts, which are automatically implemented when specific conditions from all interested parties are reached, cutting the time involved and the risk of mistakes. Another use could be storing medical records, as patients can be confident their information cannot be changed. The technology can also be used in supply chains, voting and has the potential to used for storing property records.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Brief scores:
Liverpool 3
Mane 24', Shaqiri 73', 80'
Manchester United 1
Lingard 33'
Man of the Match: Fabinho (Liverpool)
Dolittle
Director: Stephen Gaghan
Stars: Robert Downey Jr, Michael Sheen
One-and-a-half out of five stars
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
