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The Temple of Speed lived up to its name as Qualifying for the Italian Grand Prix unfolded on Saturday in Monza. While Ferrar and McLaren looked speedy throughout the three Practice Sessions, In the end Max Verstappen was the man to beat in a thriller session to set Sunday’s grid.
Here are our top highlights from Italian Grand Prix Qualifying.
Top moments from each session.
Q1: Hadjar’s career first Q1 exit
Despite being only 0.5 seconds away from the Q1 leader, George Russell (who was on mediums when he set the fastest time of the session), Isack Hadjar remained in the elimination zone, showing just how demanding this track is. Of note, this is Hadjar's first time not being able to advance to Q2 during Qualifying. It comes at an unfortunate time following his maiden podium finish last weekend in the Netherlands. He was joined by Lance Stroll, Franco Colapinto, Pierre Gasly, and fellow VCARB teammate, Liam Lawson.
Q2: Norris narrowly escapes elimination
The battle for the top 10 was incredibly tight. Lando Norris had to make an unexpected visit to the pit to refuel after a mistake saw him hitting track limits on his initial lap in Q2. This put him under immense pressure to set an adequate time to advance to the final stage at a time in the fight for the driver's title when a Q2 exit would be absolutely detrimental. With seconds left on the clock, Norris was able to start a final push lap that was fast enough to get him into Q3. Meanwhile, home hero Kimi Antonelli set a stunning lap time to come second overall in the session.
Eliminated drivers included Oliver Bearman, Nico Hulkenberg, Carlos Sainz, Alex Albon and Esteban Ocon.
Q3: Verstappen takes the lead
Verstappen takes his fifth pole position of the year in an absolutely amazing show at the end of the session. Not only did he secure pole position, he set a new track record and achieved the fastest pole lap in the history of F1. Red Bull generally fared well this Saturday, as Yuki Tsunoda kept his pace close to Verstappen’s, making it to Q3 for the first time in 10 races.
Meanwhile, Charles Leclerc finds himself in P4, the place he started from last year when he won this track after Ferrari decided against having Lewis Hamilton give him a tow on the final lap. Norris looked in danger of starting towards the back of the top 10, but in the end pulled through to get ahead of his teammate at a critical point of the championship.
Temperature check
Who rose above expectations? And who flopped? Here’s our temperature check for the Dutch GP:
Sizzling - Gabriel Bortoleto. The winner of the 2024 F2 race at Monza showed excellent pace today to make it into Q3 once again in his first season in F1.
Ice cold - Lawson. Despite having improved in his qualifying performances over the past few races, Lawson could not extract what he needed from his car, starting at the very back of the grid.
Radio of the day - Tire trouble
“Uh. I thought I said I wanted the mediums.” - Russell
Russell came on the radio in Q3 to confirm the tyres his team gave him, making his displeasure clear at the fact that he was put on softs. He set an incredible time on the medium compound early in Qualifying, topping the time chart at the end of Q1. Russell qualified sixth overall, and will start from fifth position on Sunday after Hamilton takes his five-place grid penalty for speeding under double yellows at the Dutch Grand Prix.
Hungarian Grand Prix Qualifying Results
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Cover photo via Maksym Harbar on Pexels.
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