Oscar Piastri took the lead in a thrilling Emilia Romagna Grand Prix qualifying session, while Yuki Tsunoda escaped a serious collision and Lewis Hamilton was forced to retire early from his maiden Ferrari home race.
Max Verstappen stormed to the top of the rankings in an attempt to secure a third consecutive pole position, but Piastri completed a perfect lap when it mattered, beating his time by only 0.034 seconds.
Following his last-minute loss to George Russell, who will start from third for Mercedes, Lando Norris could only achieve fourth for McLaren, more than three tenths off the pole speed.
Piastri, who has won the past 3 races and four of the first six this season, leads Norris by 16 points in the drivers' title going into this event.
Verstappen may have a difficult time holding Norris at bay on Sunday after losing to him by 16 points after McLaren's impressive one-two in Miami two weeks ago.
Piastri said the session was great but very tough due to delays, red flags, and tricky tires. He added that the team did a great job getting the car into a good window.
He mentioned they had tried a few different things throughout the weekend and found a good setup for qualifying.
Piastri stated the lap was excellent, although having about four cars in the last corner didn't help. He expressed he was very, very happy with a job well done and excited for the next day.
Prior to his 1st home race weekend as a Ferrari driver, Hamilton had been excited and full of expectations. However, his Saturday ended in bitter disappointment as he was eliminated in the second qualifying round.
Hamilton and teammate Charles Leclerc were eliminated early, as the 40-year-old's poor practice performance and the Scuderia's rough start to the season hit a new low on home soil.
Hamilton qualified 12th, Leclerc 11th.
The local fans were even more disappointed when Kimi Antonelli, an Italian, could only finish 13th for Mercedes.
Tsunoda's car crashed into the barriers, was hoisted into the air, flipped over, and then landed upside down and righted itself after he slipped on the gravel on the Villeneuve chicane exit during the first leg of qualifying.
Red Bull said that the 25-year-old was well and that he was on his way to the medical center after he hastily got out of the vehicle.
For fifteen minutes, the initial session was red-flagged while the tire barrier was being repaired.
Additionally, it was stopped early because Franco Colapinto, who had replaced Jack Doohan at Alpine and was racing in his first race back in Formula One, dipped a tire into the gravel on the Tamburello exit and crashed into the barriers.
After visiting the medical facility, the Argentine was cleared.
In 1994, Ayrton Senna and Roland Ratzenberger lost their lives in collisions at Imola, a circuit rich in history and tragedy. After a 14-year break, it made a comeback to the Formula One calendar in 2020.