F1 LIVE | Verstappen pits under the VSC to take a commanding lead over Norris at Imola

After the 2024 Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, where less than a second separated Max Verstappen and Lando Norris in their battle for victory, once again a Red Bull and a McLaren car will be on the first row of the grid in Imola.

This time however, the McLaren will be on pole position with Oscar Piastri behind the steering wheel, and the Dutchman will start from second place. Lando Norris finished in fourth place in Qualifying, as George Russell manage to once again put his Mercedes inside the Top 3.

Piastri and Verstappen previous shared the front row of the grid during the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix, where the Australian dove down inside of his rival into Turn 1. As a result, Verstappen cut the second corner, leading to him receiving a five-second penalty by the stewards.

In terms of the standings, Piastri leads by 16 points ahead of his teammate, while Verstappen's gap to the Australian stands at 32 points after six rounds have been completed.

It was a difficult day for the home favourites on Saturday. The two Ferrari drivers, Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton were both eliminated in Q2, and finished in P11 and P12 respectively. Born in Bologna in the Emilia-Romagna region, Kimi Antonelli finished in P13.

After a heavy crash in qualifying, it has already been announced that Yuki Tsunoda will start from the pit lane. The Japanese driver had a heavy crash minutes into Q1, and RB21 had to be rebuilt with different components, and he also received a new power unit.

The Grand Prix will begin at 15:00 local time (14:00 GMT).