Yuki Tsunoda came away unscathed from a frightening crash during qualifying for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
The Red Bull driver skidded off the track and across the gravel at the Villeneuve chicane at high speed in Q1 during Saturday’s eventful session at Imola, his car flipping as it smashed into the tyre barrier before rolling horribly and initially landing upside down, eventually coming to a halt the right way up.
Tsunoda was thankfully able to get out quickly from his severely-damaged RB21 without any assistance and get into the medical car as the red flags were waved to bring a halt to proceedings.
He was then transported to the on-site medical centre, with Red Bull later confirming that he was released after undergoing precautionary checks.
A big hit for Yuki 😧
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) May 17, 2025
He's out of the car and headed to the medical centre to be checked over ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/6Do2KSnmMj
Tsunoda was not the only driver involved in a heavy crash during the early stages of qualifying in Italy as the session was quickly red-flagged for a second time.
Alpine’s Franco Colapinto lost control at Turn 4 late in Q1, spinning across the grass and gravel before hitting the safety barrier front-on.
The Argentine immediately signalled over the team radio that he was okay and he too was able to exit his car unhurt, with the start of Q2 delayed.
“Not what we wanted to see - Franco is off and into the barriers,” Alpine wrote on social media. “He is out of the car and is ok.”
Tsunoda and Colapinto are both drivers looking to make an impression with new teams in 2025, with the former promoted from Racing Bulls to the senior Red Bull team after just two races back in April as a replacement for Liam Lawson.
"Are you ok buddy?" 📻
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) May 17, 2025
"Yeah... sorry..." 😔
Glad to hear Franco is ok after his big shunt in Q1 👇 pic.twitter.com/pxSpbaFvm5
Colapinto, meanwhile, had a nine-race stint as a replacement for Logan Sargeant at Williams in 2024, before joining Alpine as a test and reserve driver over the winter.
He was called up last week to replace rookie Jack Doohan for the next five races beginning at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, with a new evaluation planned before the British Grand Prix at Silverstone in July.
Oscar Piastri took pole position at Imola as the world championship leader bids to deliver his fourth successive race win for dominant McLaren and fifth of the season overall, producing a brilliant lap to pip reigning four-time champion Max Verstappen to top spot on the grid by 0.034 seconds.
Mercedes’ George Russell beat Lando Norris to third, with Fernando Alonso fifth for Aston Martin ahead of the Williams pair of Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon. The top 10 was rounded off by Alonso’s team-mate Lance Stroll, Racing Bulls rookie Isack Hadjar and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly.
It was a miserable day at their home race for Ferrari, with Lewis Hamilton starting down in 12th place after being eliminated in shock fashion in Q2. Team-mate Charles Leclerc will begin 11th.
“I'm sorry guys, I can't improve for some reason,” Hamilton said over the radio.
