IMOLA, Italy: Oscar Piastri fought his way through traffic to take pole position in the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix on Saturday as Ferrari had a terrible session, with neither car in the top 10.

Piastri seemed to lose valuable time getting past cars toward the end of his final qualifying lap but it still proved enough as Max Verstappen fell just .034 of a second short of the Australian’s time.

That gives Piastri a big advantage in Sunday’s race at a track where overtaking is notably difficult.

George Russell took third for Mercedes, pushing Piastri’s McLaren teammate and title rival Lando Norris down to fourth.

It was a tough day for the home fans as Ferrari drivers Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton and Formula 1’s sole Italian driver, Kimi Antonelli, all qualified outside the top 10. All three were caught out by rivals improving their times at the end of the second part of qualifying, with Leclerc 11th, Hamilton 12th and Antonelli 13th.

Earlier in the session, heavy crashes for Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda and Alpine’s Franco Colapinto brought out the red flag.

DUBAI: The Federation Internationale de l’Automobile, the global governing body for motor sport and the federation for mobility organizations worldwide, has announced that it is to make major improvements to Appendix B of its International Sporting Code following an extensive review commissioned by FIA’s President Mohammed Ben Sulayem.

The latest version of Appendix B of the ISC was introduced in January 2025, aligning the FIA with other global sporting organizations such as FIFA, the National Football League, and World Rugby, all of which have strong codes of conduct to protect the integrity of their respective sports.

Sulayem said: “As a former rally driver I know firsthand the range of emotions that are faced during competition. I have led an extensive and collaborative review with contributions from across the seven FIA world championships, FIA member clubs and other motor sports organizations.

“The improvements the FIA has announced today to Appendix B will ensure we continue to promote the best of sportsmanship in motor sport, while also giving stewards effective guidelines to act against individuals who may bring the sport into disrepute. The FIA will always be committed to ensuring motor sport is accessible for all our sporting family.”

The ISC provides the stewards with the necessary regulatory tools to ensure they have all relevant information regarding the range of penalties that may be imposed and the procedures to be followed. This enables them to apply penalties in a consistent and transparent manner.

The review was carried out in collaboration with the FIA Drivers’ Committee and Ronan Morgan, its president, as well as the FIA Formula One steward chairs. Input was also received from FIA members clubs and other motor sport organizations across the seven FIA world championships.

The main changes to Appendix B are: The base maximum penalty has been reduced generally from €10,000 to €5,000. This is a reduction of 50 percent.  However, for FIA world championships, where multipliers are involved, the reductions will be even more significant.

Stewards will have the option to fully suspend a penalty for certain types of breach, provided it is the first offense by the driver or team.

Following approval via e-vote by the WMSC (World Motor Sport Council), the amended Appendix B will allow stewards to differentiate between controlled and non-controlled environments, effectively recognizing the difference between language used in “uncontrolled” and “controlled” environments. Controlled environments include settings such as press conferences, while uncontrolled environments refer to spontaneous comments made by drivers or teams when on track or during a rally stage.

Mitigating circumstances will continue to be considered, with additional guidance available to promote consistency and fairness for all parties in the application of Appendix B.

Abuse of officials will now result in sporting penalties rather than fines, aligning motor sport with other major global sports organizations.

Racial and discriminatory comments will continue to be addressed firmly.

Stewards will retain the supreme authority to decide which penalty to impose in the event of a breach of the ISC.

Morgan said: “Drivers are looked up to as role models by young fans and are rightly seen as ambassadors for the wider world of motor sport. How they act really does matter, but it is important to recognize that there is a difference between what is said during a race and in a press conference.

“Today’s changes further strengthen the FIA’s International Sporting Code, supporting our drivers by understanding the pressures they face during the heat of competition.”