Raikkonen edges out Vettel for pole to lead Ferrari 1-2 in front of ecstatic tifosi; Hamilton salvages P3 for Mercedes
On the ultrafast Monza circuit in these ultrafast 2018 F1 cars it was Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen who managed to take maximum advantage of his Prancing Horse’s aerodynamics and power in Saturday qualifying, setting the fastest lap in Formula 1 history en route to pole for tomorrow’s Italian Grand Prix. In front of the ecstatic tifosi at Ferrari’s home Grand Prix just a few miles from their storied Maranello base of operations, the veteran Finn managed to flip the script from his usual wingman role to get the better of team leader Sebastian Vettel. Raikkonen hooked up a flawless fast lap late in Q3 that was perhaps aided by his positioning in the slipstream of his usually superior teammate. And at 1:19.119 the veteran Finn had the rarified honor of setting the all-time fastest lap in F1 history. Combined with Vettel’s P2 time, Ferrari secured a front row lockout in front of their ultra-demanding home fans, who will be desperate to see one of the team’s blood red cars take victory in tomorrow’s race.
For Mercedes it was another ominous sign that Ferrari’s engine has increased its upside potential when the wick is turned up since returning from the summer break, as the Scuderia proved with Vettel’s race-winning performance last week at Spa. Leading the eventual top 3 across the line as the checkered flag flew in the last quali session Lewis Hamilton could only muster the third fastest time in his Silver Arrow, while his teammate Valtteri Bottas qualified P4. With the two Ferraris on the front row and the two Mercedes lined up directly behind them on the second row, the getaway from the line should produce some potentially nerve racking moments and could well determine the outcome of the entire race.
Red Bull’s Max Vertsappen set the fifth fastest qualifying lap while his teammate Daniel Ricciardo has to start from the rear due to engine-change penalties. That opened the door for Haas’s Romain Grosjean to make a run good enough to seize a solid P6 on the grid, bettering the effort of the factory Renault of Carlos Sainz, who come home slightly behind the Frenchman in P7. Esteban Ocon set the eighth fastest time for Force India, while Pierre Gasly did well to qualify P9 for Toro Rosso. Rounding out the Top 10 starters, Williams finally got a car into Q3 this year, as Lance Stroll managed to set a time good enough for P10, capitalizing on the Williams’ brute power on a circuit that does not quite punish its woeful lack of downforce as much as most of the others on the calendar.
Top 10 qualifiers for the Italian GP:
| POS | DRIVER | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1:20.722 | 1:19.846 | 1:19.119 | |
| 2 | 1:20.542 | 1:19.629 | 1:19.280 | |
| 3 | 1:20.810 | 1:19.798 | 1:19.294 | |
| 4 | 1:21.381 | 1:20.427 | 1:19.656 | |
| 5 | 1:21.381 | 1:20.333 | 1:20.615 | |
| 6 | 1:21.887 | 1:21.239 | 1:20.936 | |
| 7 | 1:21.732 | 1:21.552 | 1:21.041 | |
| 8 | 1:21.570 | 1:21.315 | 1:21.099 | |
| 9 | 1:21.834 | 1:21.667 | 1:21.350 | |
| 10 | 1:21.838 | 1:21.494 | 1:21.627 |
Complete qualifying results available via Formula1.com.
Tomorrow’s race airs live on ESPN2 beginning at 9AM Eastern here in the States. Will Raikonnen get his first win in ages or prove unable to withstand Vettel’s certain charge? Will Hamilton spoil the Ferrari party to gleefully break Italian hearts? Hope to see you then to see how it all shakes out!