Oscar Piastri’s Rollercoaster Emotions After Imola Qualification
Oscar Piastri was on cloud nine after his strong qualification at the Imola circuit. However, his mood completely flipped just two hours later. The Australian received a three-place grid penalty, meaning he will not start from the front row at the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, but from P5.
Close Competition in Q3
In Q3 of the qualification, Piastri was only 0.074 seconds behind Max Verstappen, who secured pole position for the eighth consecutive time, equalling a classic record set by Ayrton Senna. Piastri also narrowly outperformed his teammate Lando Norris.
Penalty for Hindering Kevin Magnussen
However, after the session, he had to report to the stewards for impeding Kevin Magnussen in Q1. The Haas driver was eliminated due to the incident. The stewards ruled that Piastri unnecessarily drove in Magnussen’s racing line, resulting in a three-place grid penalty. As a result, Lando Norris will start from the front row, next to Max Verstappen, in tomorrow’s race. Norris won the previous GP in Miami just under two weeks ago.
