Monza - Qualifying

Before we look at the qualifying hour, we need to talk about all the other more or less surprising developments that have taken place since the last Grand Prix. And with all that's happened, it's almost hard to believe that it was only a week ago that we visited Zandvoort. 

After his FP1 crash and a less-than-memorable race, Williams let Logan Sargeant go. He won't be participating in the remaining nine races and his plans for the next season are currently unknown. His spot was quickly given to Franco Colapinto, an F2 driver who has been a member of the Williams Driver Academy since 2023. He will be the first Argentinian to compete in Formula One in over twenty years. 

The second big announcement concerned Andrea Kimi Antonelli. The Mercedes-backed F2 driver has for a long time been linked to the second Mercedes seat and it was quite possible that he would be officially announced during the second Italian Grand Prix weekend of the season, the first day of which also marked the day of his official F1 debut as he was called in to drive in FP2 behind the wheel of Russel's car. The young Italian began the session in great fashion, managing a truly impressive and very quick lap. Unfortunately, his time on track was cut short as he pushed just a bit too hard and crashed at the famous Parabolica. While he was thankfully okay, the incident brought out a red flag as the Mercedes he drove sustained quite a bit of damage. This didn't affect the announcement that came out in the early hours of the qualifying Saturday and stated that Antonelli would officially join Russel in Mercedes in just a few short months. 

And while the cheers of the celebrating Italian fans could still be heard all around the circuit, the qualifying began. Since its very beginning, all eyes were on the two Ferraris, both of whom looked rather quick on one of their home circuits. Leclerc managed to put together a solid lap, but Sainz went wide and abandoned his first attempt. The situation was mirrored in McLaren, their rival team, where Norris managed to go to the very top of the leaderboard, while Piastri cut the chicane and needed to abandon his attempt. Their immediate competition for pole, Red Bulls and Mercedes, didn't manage to catch up to the benchmark times of Norris and Leclerc. Tensions ran high in the pitlane after Piastri's unsafe release almost caused Verstappen to drive right into him. 

With the first session nearing its end, the drivers had just enough time for one last push. Colapinto looked likely to make it into Q2 but his chances to become a part of the top 15 evaporated when he caught the gravel on what was sure to be his last attempt. He wasn't the only one to fall into its trap. in fact, by the time the session was over, there was enough gravel on track for Q2 to be delayed due to the necessary cleanup. And, hard as they all pushed themselves, it was Tsunoda, Stroll, Colapinto, Bottas, and Zhou who made up the elimination zone. 

The Ferraris were the first ones on track once the second session began. They drove out rather close together, presumably so that one car could provide some slipstream to the other. Both drivers put in good laps but with Verstappen and the two McLarens following behind on their brand-new tires, they didn't stay on the top for long. Both scarlet cars tried to improve, a task which went far better for Sainz than it did for Leclerc. The Monegasque complained about his car not turning 'again' and overall didn't seem pleased with the setup. Besides the four top teams, there were seven drivers in the running for the last two spots in the top ten and it was Albon and Hulkenberg who secured them. Alonso, Ricciardo, Magnussen, Gasly, and Ocon ended their day earlier than they might have hoped to. 

In Monza, it isn't uncommon for the first run of Q3 to be the one that matters so the pressure was high on the drivers to deliver from the moment the light on the end of the pitlane turned green. All teams pushed to the limit but it was McLaren who came out on top. Interestingly enough, all teammates seemed to match each other's performances as Norris and Piastri were followed by two Mercedes, two Ferraris, and two Red Bulls in that exact order. 

For Red Bull the last series of runs began with a rather unfortunate incident as Perez, who was positioned right in front of Verstappen so that he could give him the perfect conditions for a quick lap, went off into the gravel and brought some debris and a huge dirt cloud right before his teammate. As a result, neither of them managed a great lap. They finished the session at P7 and P8, with only Hulkenberg and Albon behind them. The fight for the pole was brewing between the remaining three teams and, once again, despite Ferrari and Mercedes pushing with all they had, it was McLaren's day. As if to rub salt in the wounds of Italian fans, the team managed to achieve a front-row lockup. Lando Norris became a back-to-back polesitter, having gotten his 5th career pole. 

The uncomfortable question that lingers in the minds of viewers before the race... Will he be able to keep the lead throughout the first lap of tomorrow's race? 

Order of the grid

1. Lando Norris

2. Oscar Piastri

3. George Russel 

4. Charles Leclerc

5. Carlos Sainz

6. Lewis Hamilton

7. Max Verstappen

8. Sergio Perez

9. Alex Albon

10. Nico Hulkenberg

11. Fernando Alonso

12. Daniel Ricciardo

13. Kevin Magnussen

14. Pierre Gasly

15. Esteban Ocon

16. Yuki Tsunoda

17. Lance Stroll

18. Franco Colapinto

19. Valtteri Bottas

20. Zhou Guanyu