Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc takes pole position after a busy qualifying at the Italian Grand Prix
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc takes pole position after a busy qualifying at the Italian Grand Prix
Charles Leclerc edged out Max Verstappen to claim pole for Ferrari at the Italian team’s home Grand Prix at Monza.
Grid penalties for world championship leader Verstappen and Leclerc’s Ferrari team-mate Carlos Sainz – the only realistic challengers for pole – meant the Monegasque was certain to start from the front but set the fastest time in qualifying to the delight of the Tifosi .
Verstappen will receive a five-place grid penalty, but it remains unclear where that will leave him on Sunday’s grid, with penalties for other drivers who qualified behind him also to be applied.
“Today is good but now we have to repeat it tomorrow, tomorrow is crucial today but the feeling is really good, we just have to put it all together and not make any mistakes,” said Leclerc.
“Honestly, I’m very confident that we have a very good race pace. They (Red Bull) have a different set-up and higher downforce, but I’m very confident that we can do it.”
Verstappen’s Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez was fourth on the grid but faces a 10-place penalty, while Lewis Hamilton was fifth but will be relegated to the back of the grid, along with Sainz, after getting a full re-start. engine parts.
That means Leclerc will be joined on the front row by Mercedes’ George Russell, who was sixth in qualifying.
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Sky F1’s Karun Chandhok analyzes Leclerc and Max Verstappen’s qualifying rounds ahead of the Italian GP
Sky F1’s Karun Chandhok analyzes Leclerc and Max Verstappen’s qualifying rounds ahead of the Italian GP
Lando Norris is promoted to third, while his McLaren team-mate Daniel Ricciardo is also in line for a high starting position.
Nyck de Vries impressed on his F1 qualifying debut as he replaced Alex Albon at Williams, who was ruled out of the weekend earlier on Saturday with appendicitis.
The Mercedes reserve driver, who is hoping to secure a permanent place on the grid next season, overtook team-mate Nicholas Latifi to advance to Q2 and looked in with an outside chance of reaching Q3.
Max Verstappen – 5 places Esteban Ocon – 5 places Sergio Perez – 10 places Valtteri Bottas – 15 places Mick Schumacher- 15 places Kevin Magnussen- 15 places Yuki Tsunoda – behind the grid Lewis Hamilton – back on the grid Carlos Sainz – behind the grid
The sport continued to pay tribute to Queen Elizabeth II, with many cars wearing visual tributes. A minute’s silence was observed by all teams in the pit lane before Friday’s first practice session and further tributes are expected ahead of Sunday’s race.
The paddock is awaiting an interim grid from the FIA, but Sky Sports F1’s David Croft has predicted what he expects it to be like when all the penalties are applied.
David Croft’s Italian GP provisional starting grid:
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Sky Sports F1’s David Croft explains how driver penalties could affect the final grid for Sunday’s Italian Grand Prix
Sky Sports F1’s David Croft explains how driver penalties could affect the final grid for Sunday’s Italian Grand Prix
- Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) 2) George Russell (Mercedes) 3) Lando Norris (McLaren) 4) Max Verstappen (Red Bull)*5) Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren) 6) Pierre Gasly (Alpha Tauri) 7) Fernando Alonso ( Alpine)8) Nyck de Vries (Williams)9) Zhou Guanyu (Alfa Romeo)10) Sergio Perez (Red Bull)*11) Nicholas Latifi (Williams)12) Esteban Ocon (Alpine)*13) Sebastian Vettel (Aston Martin) 14) Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) 15) Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo)*16) Kevin Magnussen (Haas)*17) Mick Schumacher (Haas)*18) Carlos Sainz (Ferrari)*19) Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)20 ) Yuki Tsunoda (Alpha Tauri)
- Grid penalty applied
Leclerc gives Ferrari hope of a boost at Monza
Practice had made it clear that the competition for fastest time was between Leclerc, Verstappen and Sainz, with each of the three having won one of the three sessions.
Red Bull’s Verstappen appeared to have established himself as the clear favorite to top the schedule when he comfortably edged out Leclerc in final practice earlier on Saturday.
With Verstappen and Sainz facing penalties, there was much speculation about whether the teams would use the demoted drivers to provide tows to their teammates during qualifying.
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Sky F1’s Karun Chandhok is joined by Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc on SkyPad to analyze his pole lap at Monza.
Sky F1’s Karun Chandhok is joined by Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc on SkyPad to analyze his pole lap at Monza.
It seems both teams decided such a tactic was unnecessary, with Sainz unexpectedly receiving a tow from Leclerc on their first run in the final part of qualifying.
In the end it didn’t matter as Leclerc saved his best for last, edging out Verstappen by 0.145s to ensure the world championship leader would start one place further back on the grid after his penalty was served.
While Verstappen looks out of reach for Leclerc, who sits second in the standings with Perez 109 points behind the Dutchman with seven races remaining, a win at Monza would be huge for Ferrari.
After a series of reliability issues and strategic errors, the pressure is on for Ferrari to deliver ahead of the Tifosi and a win would no doubt ease the mounting pressure on team principal Mattia Binotto.
Mercedes holds off McLaren | De Vries impresses on his debut
Mercedes had been off the pace of Red Bull and Ferrari all weekend but were decisively able to provide enough pace to hold off McLaren and assure Russell of a front row start.
Hamilton faces a tough challenge to get past the field from 19th on the grid, with Mercedes’ lack of straight-line speed potentially making it particularly difficult to get past potential DRS trains of cars.
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Mercedes pair Lewis Hamilton and George Russell reflect on their performances in qualifying for the Italian Grand Prix.
Mercedes pair Lewis Hamilton and George Russell reflect on their performances in qualifying for the Italian Grand Prix.
Norris maintained his consistent dominance to finish behind Mercedes in seventh and was rewarded with third place, while outgoing McLaren driver Ricciardo will be delighted to be in contact with his team-mate at the track where the Australian won for the team. a year ago.
De Vries, who was rushed into Albon’s car just before final practice earlier on Saturday, excelled in what would likely be his best chance to put himself forward for a full F1 drive next year.
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Mercedes pair Lewis Hamilton and George Russell reflect on their performances in qualifying for the Italian Grand Prix.
Mercedes pair Lewis Hamilton and George Russell reflect on their performances in qualifying for the Italian Grand Prix.
The 27-year-old Dutchman, who is a former Formula E and Formula 2 champion, gradually closed the gap on Williams team-mate Latifi in practice before overtaking him in qualifying.
Further back there was more disappointment on Saturday for Aston Martin, which saw Sebastian Vettel and Lance Stroll qualify 17th and 18th respectively, bettering only the Haas cars.
While the grid penalties will move Vettel and Stroll up the grid, this latest disappointment in qualifying is further evidence that the team has failed to match its significant investment with strong performances.
Italian GP qualifying time sheet
Driver group time…
