Carlos Sainz (55) salutes the Ferrari fans following his pole position at the Monza Circuit for the Formula 1 Italian Grand Prix (Photo: Scuderia Ferrari)
MONZA, Italy — In the home of the Tifosi and Ferrari, the Prancing Horse reigned supreme at Monza during Saturday’s final practice and qualifying sessions as Carlos Sainz led the way for the Formula 1 Italian Grand Prix weekend. The challenge of a different tire selection set the strategies for the final practice before going all out for the close battle of the qualifying session to set the grid for the Grand Prix on Sunday.
Following Friday’s practice sessions, Ferrari looked to be able to take the fight against Red Bull and Max Verstappen. But first came the final practice at the Temple of Speed.
With a minimal selection of tires, teams elected to run scuffed sets of tires during the final practice ahead of the qualifying session. Multiple teams and drivers swapped to the top spot, including the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton and the Williams of Alex Albon, finding himself close to the quickest.
But Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz and Red Bull’s Verstappen showed the way during the final practice session. Both drivers traded top times in the final practice, but ultimately, Sainz picked up the quickest time over the Red Bull. Hamilton slotted in with the third fastest time ahead of the other Ferrari of Charles Leclerc and the Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso in a relatively quiet FP3.
It became time for all eyes to turn to the qualifying sessions with the same strategy as the Hungarian Grand Prix qualifying. Teams would have to run the hard compound tires in the first round, medium compound tires in the second round and soft tires in the final round.
It came time for the first round of qualifying to begin as teams bolted on the hard compound tires on the cars and sent their drivers out to set their first times in the opening round of qualifying. Verstappen set the benchmark in Q1 before he lost that time due to track limits. Soon, the Williams of Albon showed off its quick pace, setting a fast time before Verstappen came around to set a new benchmark lap.
That was close 🫣
Lando Norris nearly veers into Esteban Ocon whilst on his flying lap! #ItalianGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/q9xTXONOaH
— Formula 1 (@F1) September 2, 2023
However, the drama was lower on the timing sheets as the McLaren of Lando Norris and the Alpine of Esteban Ocon before the Curva Alboreto. But that wasn’t the only time he had issues in qualifying as he made his way into the gravel at the Ascari chicane. He and his teammate, Pierre Gasly, did not have the session they hoped to have, especially after a strong weekend at Circuit Zandvoort the week prior.
Joining the Alpines out in Q1 as unable to advance into the second round, was the Aston Martin of Lance Stroll, who has had a weekend to forget so far, with the Haas of Kevin Magnussen and the Alfa Romeo of Zhou Guanyu.
Teams bolted on the medium tires for Q2 as Verstappen started the session again by setting the benchmark time. However, the Leclerc and Sainz Ferrari pair were beginning to loom on their home soil. In his Mercedes, Hamilton looked to be on the outside looking in for the third round for the second week in a row following an apparent impeding during his run, but he found his way into the third round.
Carlos Sainz (55) leads Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc (16) during the Saturday sessions at the Monza Circuit for the Formula 1 Italian Grand Prix (Photo: Scuderia Ferrari)
But on the outside looking in came the Williams rookie of Logan Sargeant, who was unable to repeat his surprise Q3 appearance from the week prior. Additionally, the Alfa Romeo of Valtteri Bottas, the Haas of Nico Hulkenberg, and the AlphaTauri pair of Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunod all failed to advance.
Teams bolted on the soft tires for an exciting final round of qualifying as the remaining ten drivers set out for the pole for the Italian Grand Prix.
Unlike the previous two sessions, Verstappen did not set the benchmark as he filtered in behind both Ferraris of Sainz and Leclerc, following him dropping a pair of wheels in the gravel at the Variante della Roggia chicane. But there was still one more attempt to be made with the remaining time.
All eyes turned to the pit lane and the track as the drivers set out for their final rounds at Monza. Sainz, Verstappen and Leclerc all improved their times. Still, it was Sainz who made the improvements to take his first pole position since the 2022 United States Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas, barely grabbing the pole over Verstappen by just 0.013 seconds to the roar of the passionate Tifosi in the stands.
Ride onboard with @CarlosSainz55 for his mesmerising pole lap at Monza! 🤩#ItalianGP #F1 @ScuderiaFerrari @Pirellisport pic.twitter.com/zlhMwzdnT5
— Formula 1 (@F1) September 2, 2023
Leclerc came across the line with the third fastest time, putting both Ferraris in the top three, with the Mercedes of George Russell closing out the second row on the grid. Red Bull’s Sergio Perez and the quick Williams of Albon followed ahead of the McLarens of Oscar Piastri and Norris, sandwiching Hamilton with the Aston Martin of Alonso closing out the top 10.
There was, however, a little bit of drama. Both Ferraris possibly exceeded the maximum allotted time on their out-lap, but the stewards allowed them to keep their laps, meaning their grid positions would not be changed.
Now, all eyes turn to Sunday as the Italian Grand Prix looms. Will Ferrari convert a sensational pole on home soil to a thunderous victory for the Tifosi, or will Red Bull and Verstappen respond for a record-breaking 10th victory in a row? Those questions will be answered on Sunday in an exciting Grand Prix.
