Marc Priestley
Former F1 mechanic on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

It's going to be mighty, mighty close [in qualifying], nailing everything and making the fewest mistakes is probably what is going to determine your grid position here.

Oscar Piastri was penalised last year for impeding and a traffic jam in Q1 with all cars jostling for position can definitely cause a shock elimination at the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari.

If your race engineer doesn't spot the danger and let you know, or if you're dilly-dallying on the racing line when someone is on a hot lap, it could spell disaster for your qualifying hopes.

Image source, .

The James Hunt lolly ice picture from the 11:31 entry was no random photo. It's part of a stunning piece of storytelling from F1 live boss Alan Jewell to celebrate 75 years of Formula 1.

All the great names and circuits are in there, including a cracking black and white image of Juan Manuel Fangio steering his Maserati through La Source hairpin on his way to victory in the 1954 Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps.

You can read it in order or flick back and forth between the years.

Have a read of it here.

Image source, Getty Images

Formula 1 didn't race here in 2023 because of major flooding in the Emilia-Romagna region, so this is the fifth qualifying since Imola returned to the calendar in 2020.

Max Verstappen has been polesitter at the past two events here. Last year, the four-time world champion beat out the McLarens to the front-row spot, claiming a record-equalling eighth consecutive pole position, matching the all-time record set by Ayrton Senna across the 1988 and 1989 seasons.

Thanks to a nice slipstream from then Haas driver Nico Hulkenberg, Verstappen was 0.074 seconds quicker than Oscar Piastri. The Australian didn't start on the front row, however, as he received a three-place grid penalty for impeding Haas' Kevin Magnussen during the first part of qualifying.

Ian Fergusson
BBC weather forecaster

A few showers now developing in-situ both close to and effectively above parts of the circuit. Spots of rain look likely to appear in some sectors but for now, nothing more dramatic. Air temperature is 22.2C, track 35.3C.

Image source, Getty Images

So far in this 2025 season, Lando Norris just has the one main pole position and race victory to his name - the opening grand prix in Melbourne in March.

Oscar Piastri was quicker than his British team-mate on Friday but Norris pulled out 0.1 seconds on the Australian in final practice earlier on, topping the hour ahead of Piastri on the debut C6 soft compound.

Four-time world champion Max Verstappen was third on the timesheets, home driver Kimi Antonelli put his Mercedes fourth and Charles Leclerc completed the top five in fifth, although it's been a difficult start to the Imola weekend for the Scuderia in front of the tifosi.

Marc Priestley
Former F1 mechanic on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

It's one of the bigger qualifying sessions of the year. You want to get yourself in the best position possible for the race because the overtaking is so challenging on Sunday.

Lorraine McKenna
BBC Sport Journalist

Image source, Getty Images

Welcome back or welcome in, folks. This is the first of three qualifying Saturdays in a row we've got to look forward to in May, with Monaco and Spain completing this second triple-header of the season.

Pole position is the coveted spot at the hard-to-overtake Imola circuit, and the drivers are using the all-new C6 soft tyre, so the pressure is on for the main players in the year's championship to put everything together over one lap.

Q1 gets under way at 15:00 BST.

Image source, Getty Images

McLaren look the team to beat at the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix but which one of their drivers would you put your money on to be at the head of the field for tomorrow's 63-lap race?

Or will this iconic old-school track spring a surprise in the Italian sunshine?

Andrew Benson
BBC F1 correspondent

Image source, Getty Images

Lando Norris turned the tables on McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri by heading final practice at the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix.

McLaren nailed a clean sweep of practice In Imola, but Piastri had led the way in both Friday sessions. Red Bull’s Max Verstappen was third, 0.181 seconds off Norris’ best.

Norris was 0.1secs clear of his team-mate, who leads the championship by 16 points after four wins in the first six races.

Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli was fourth, from the Williams driver Carlos Sainz and Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar.

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Mercedes’ George Russell were seventh and eighth, with Williams’ Alex Albon and Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton completing the top 10.

It was an entertaining session, with many drivers running wide at the chicanes and a big spin for Liam Lawson’s Racing Bull at Tamburello.

The drivers seemed to struggle more than on Friday to get the best out of the softest tyre compound, which is being used for the first time this season.

And Verstappen set his best time on the medium tyre rather than the softs used by the McLarens.

Pirelli has brought the new C6 compound, which had been intended for low-energy tracks such as street circuits, in the hope that a softer tyre range might push the race away from a guaranteed one-stop strategy.

Piastri’s best time actually came on his second run on a single set of soft tyres. Despite the tyres being past their best, the lap vaulted the championship leader ahead of Verstappen.

McLaren taking the top two places in each practice session in Imola should give us a good idea of who's taking pole this afternoon but you never know. Four-time world champion Max Verstappen has pulled out a stellar Saturday lap this season to beat Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris to the head of the grid, so could he maybe do it again today?

Let's stop the bus here, have a stretch and refuel, then come back together at 14:30 BST to build up to qualifying. Q1 goes green at 15:00.

See you shortly!

Marc Priestley
Former F1 mechanic on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

The actual lap time here is almost irrelevant to the driver and team. It's about understanding what every corner is going to bring for you and how your car is going to handle each one of those and if you need to make any changes or tweaks before it really matters later on.

11. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)

12. Oliver Bearman (Haas)

13. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)

14. Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls)

15. Pierre Gasly (Alpine)

16. Gabriel Bortoleto (Sauber)

17. Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull)

18. Franco Colapinto (Alpine)

19. Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber)

20. Esteban Ocon (Haas)

1. Lando Norris (McLaren) - 1:14.897

2. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) +0.100

3. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) +0.181

4. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) +0.502

5. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) +0.554

6. Carlos Sainz (Williams) +0.560

7. Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls) +0.611

8. George Russell (Mercedes) +0.765

9. Alex Albon (Williams) +0.835

10. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) +0.890

Ben Edwards
F1 commentator on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

Qualifying is going to be very close and it's going to be fascinating how the teams and drivers deal with these soft tyres which are not showing quite the advantage that they were showing in practice yesterday.

"Mate, it's just zero grip."

Yuki Tsunoda's silky soft C6 tyres have given up for the day, as the Japanese driver calls in to Red Bull to say he has no grip. Luckily for Tsunoda, the session is coming to an end...

Marc Priestley
Former F1 mechanic on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

There's been a shift whether it's the temperature or the conditions, things have changed and it's changed the pecking order as a result of that.

Ben Edwards
F1 commentator on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

Oscar Piastri is learning how to play these soft tyres a bit more because he's just done a good lap.

He's learning where to push those soft tyres, that was clever by Piastri, he's gone second.

"I might have floor damage. I went a bit wide."