While Yuki Tsunoda's crash and Ferrari's Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton struggles on home turf made headlines, Oscar Piastri's consistently excellent driving was again the lead story in qualifying at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
McLaren's Piastri claimed the pole for Race 7 on the 2025 F1 circuit by a mere three-hundredths of a second over Max Verstappen and his Honda Red Bull.
The two drivers in the front row are chasing their own piece of greatness: Piastri will look to take his fourth straight checkered flag, while Verstappen seeks his fourth straight win at Imola.
Team Mercedes driver George Russell will start third, while Lando Norris, second in the drivers' championship behind his McLaren teammate Piastri, starts fourth.
Continue reading for free Formula One picks and predictions for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix on Sunday, May 18.
2025 F1 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix odds
| Driver |  |
|---|---|
 Oscar Piastri |
-250 |
 Max Verstappen |
+350 |
| Lando Norris |
+550 |
 George Russell |
+1400 |
 Charles Leclerc |
+10000 |
 Fernando Alonso |
+10000 |
| Lewis Hamilton |
+12500 |
| Kimi Antonelli |
+15000 |
 Alex Albon |
+15000 |
| Carlos Sainz |
+15000 |
 Isack Hadjar |
+50000 |
| Lance Stroll |
+75000 |
 Pierre Gasly |
+100000 |
| Franco Colapinto |
+200000 |
 Gabriel Bortoleto |
+200000 |
| Nico Hulkenberg |
+200000 |
| Liam Lawson |
+250000 |
| Yuki Tsunoda |
+250000 |
 Oliver Bearman |
+300000 |
| Esteban Ocon |
+300000 |
Odds as of 5-17.
F1 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix 2025 post-qualifying picks
Race prediction: Piastri to win (-250 at bet365)
While the odds are much more enjoyable picking Max Verstappen to ride to victory, Oscar Piastri has been the dominant driver on the circuit this season.
He's won four times already this year and has only missed the podium once, finishing ninth in Australia to start the campaign.
It's been more of an uphill battle for Verstappen, who has had to show more driver ability this season, as his Red Bull Honda is not performing as well as the McLaren.
Piastri has just one previous start in Imola, coming in fourth last year — but he's the odds leader for a reason.
Best bet: Norris to finish 3rd (+162 at bet365)
If you're anticipating the battle at the top between Piastri and Verstappen, then the race for third goes between Lando Norris and George Russell.
Since winning and placing Top 2 in the first three races, Norris has finished third in Bahrain, fourth in Saudi Arabia, and second in Miami.
Russell’s Mercedes has the tools to compete, but perhaps not the closing power. His best result this year was a second-place outing in Bahrain.
Perhaps that's why he has three third-place placements this year and also why he's been off the podium twice, sporting fifth-place showings in Saudi Arabia and Japan.
Norris' experience on the Imola track gets the nod, as he's summoned a podium finish in three races here.
F1 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix 2025 starting grid
| Position | Driver | Position | Driver |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oscar Piastri | 11 | Charles Leclerc |
| 2 | Max Verstappen | 12 | Lewis Hamilton |
| 3 | George Russell | 13 | Kimi Antonelli |
| 4 | Lando Norris | 14 | Gabriel Bortoleto |
| 5 | Fernando Alonso | 15 | Liam Lawson |
| 6 | Carlos Sainz | 16 | Franco Colapinto |
| 7 | Alexander Albon | 17 | Nico Hulkenberg |
| 8 | Lance Stroll | 18 | Esteban Ocon |
| 9 | Isack Hadjar | 19 | Ollie Bearman |
| 10 | Pierre Gasly | 20 | Yuki Tsunoda |
F1 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix 2025 pre-qualifying favorites
Oscar Piastri is inching closer to even money as he continues to build upon his true breakout campaign. He leads the F1 driver's standings with 131 points as McLaren teammate Lando Norris is next at 115.
He finished fourth in last year's Emilia Romagna, but past performance hasn't been indicative of his results this year. He finished eighth in Bahrain and China, fourth in Saudi Arabia, and 13th in Miami in 2024. He won those races this year.
Max Verstappen has had remarkable success at Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari, winning the last three installments of the event — it wasn't held in 2023 due to flooding.
Verstappen does have a win under his belt in 2025, but he's only finished on the podium in 50% of the races. Parity has caught up, and just like we can't weigh Piastri's lesser results against him, we can't favor Verstappen simply because he's been there before.
Norris finished second last year and is second on the odds board. Ferrari's Charles Leclerc was third, but he's at +2800 thanks to a disappointing start to 2025 with just one podium finish in six races.
Previous F1 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix winners
| Year | Driver | Team |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull |
| 2023 | No race | No race |
| 2022 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull |
| 2021 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull |
| 2020 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes |
Understanding F1 betting odds
The most popular way to bet on Formula 1 odds is by simply picking the winner of a particular race. Other popular F1 betting options include which car/constructor will win and whether or not a particular race car driver will end up on the podium with a Top-3 finish.
F1 race odds usually look like this:
- Charles Leclerc +400
This means that on a $100 bet, you'll stand to profit $400 if Leclerc wins that particular race. If one driver is especially dominant, you might see a minus sign (-) ahead of that driver's odds like this:
- Max Verstappen -120
This means that you would need to bet $120 to win $100 on Verstappen winning the race.
