QUALIFYING: Verstappen grabs pole, Hamilton and Leclerc please Tifosi with encouraging result at Monza
Reigning champion Max Verstappen grabbed pole position at the Italian Grand Prix, beating the McLaren duo of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. F1Technical’s senior writer Balazs Szabo reports from the Autodromo Nazionale Monza.
Max Verstappen has looked quick all weekend long, and the reigning champion was able to convert his pace into a pole position for Sunday’s Italian Grand Prix.
McLaren displayed strong pace in final practice, but the papaya outfit seemed to struggle a bit in qualifying - at least to their standards. However, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri put in a great effort on their final lap in Q3 to end up second and third quickest.
Ferrari displayed strong pace on Friday, but the Scuderia fractionally lost its competitiveness for Saturday. However, Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton bounced back in qualifying to claim P4 and P5, respectively, albeit the seven-time F1 champion will serve a five-place grid penalty for a pre-race infringement from the Dutch Grand Prix.
Mercedes drivers George Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli looked very competitive in the first two segments of qualifying, but they slightly struggled to extract the best performance on Pirelli’s soft tyres in Q3.
With margins having been so tight in qualifying, Russell ended up only sixth fastest, while Kimi Antonelli, who has an own exhibition in the Monza fan zone, took seventh. However, they will both benefit from Hamilton’s penalty.
Kick Sauber’s rookie driver Gabriel Bortoleto delivered a faultless performance to secure P8 in qualifying which will convert into a seventh starting spot on the grid.
Fernando Alonso seemed to struggle for pure pace across the practice sessions, but the Spaniard got his act together in qualifying to end up ninth, with Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda having completed the top ten.
Oliver Bearman was the quickest driver who failed to make it out of Q2 which will see the Haas driver start his first Monza F1 race from P11 on the grid.
Nico Hulkenberg failed to keep up with the pace of his team-mate Gabriel Bortoleto, and finished in P12, ahead of the Williams duo of Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon, while Esteban Ocon ended up slowest in Q2.
Hot on the heels of his maiden F1 podium finish at last Sunday’s Dutch Grand Prix, Isack Hadjar endured a disappointing result in today’s qualifying at Monza, and will only line up 16th on the grid.
Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll will occupy the 17th starting position, lining up alongside Alpine’s Franco Colapinto, who fractionally beat his team-mate Pierre Gasly, while Racing Bulls driver Liam Lawson has brought up the rear of the field.
