Tag Archives: Monza

2021 F1 Grand Prix of Italy — Results & aftermath

MADNESS AT MONZA: Ricciardo wins, Norris second for shock McLaren 1-2; Hamilton and Verstappen take each other out mid race; Bottas salvages P3 for Mercedes after Perez penalty

In a stunning result for the Italian Grand Prix on Sunday, beleaguered McLaren driver Daniel Ricciardo shocked the Formula 1 paddock by passing the pole-sitting Red Bull of Max Verstappen when the lights went out to start the race and somehow held on to take the win when the full 53 laps of this classic contest at Monza had been run. Better yet for the team, their second car, driven by the talented young Englishman Lando Norris, was able to keep pace with his older teammate, tucking in right behind Ricciardo to cross the line in P2 as the checkers flew. So, not only was it the completely rebuilt team’s first victory since 2012 but that made it the first 1-2 for McLaren since back in 2010 when Lewis Hamilton was still driving for them, and Ricciardo’s first win since 2018 when he was Verstappen’s teammate at Red Bull. A truly amazing renaissance for the Aussie in Italy!

Meanwhile, behind the top two papaya colored McLarens the slow burning antagonism between this season’s top two championship contenders came to an unfortunate and dramatic new inflection point. With Verstappen and his chief rival for the drivers’ title, Mercedes ace Lewis Hamilton, splitting their tire strategies to start the race, Verstappen pitted first on Lap 24 to doff his initial set of Medium Pirelli tires in favor of the Hards. But it was an uncharacteristically awful start for the normally crisp Red Bull pit crew when a problem either with the gun or the nut of the right front led to a whopping 11 seconds stationary for the Dutchman instead of the usual 2.5-3 seconds. After already losing the lead to the hard charging Ricciardo on the opening lap, that left Verstappen fuming even more as he rejoined down in P10. Meanwhile Hamilton, who had started on the Hards, pitted two laps later for fresh Mediums, ostensibly giving him the performance advantage for the remainder of the race. But Hamilton’s stop was also on the slow side, some 4-seconds, which combined with Verstappen’s incredibly slow stop, saw Hamilton reemerge from the pit lane behind Norris and nearly alongside Verstappen, who was streaking down the start-finish straight.

With Hamilton leading into the Turn 1 chicane complex by half a car, Verstappen tried to stuff his Red Bull into the tightening radius of the curves. Hamilton didn’t give a millimeter and Verstappen wound up plowing through the big sausage curbs at the edge of the chicane, launching his Red Bull directly on top of Hamilton’s Silver Arrow. Thankfully the Halo device once again did its job and showed its merit, because the full weight of the Red Bull landed on top of the Mercedes’ roll hoop and cockpit area, cracking the floor of Verstappen’s mount in a fierce spray of carbon fiber. Verstappen’s rear will did appear to make contact with Hamilton’s helmet but thankfully the Halo deflected any more serious impacts and both drivers emerged unscathed. Their races, however, were shockingly over in that instant, with Verstappen netting only two points on the weekend in Italy due to finishing second in Sprint Qualifying on Saturday and Hamilton getting exactly zero on a day when he had the pace to perhaps challenge for victory. Verstappen now leads Hamilton by 5 in the Drivers’ in a a rivalry that has officially reached the boiling point with a planned eight more rounds to go. For those who’ve wanted a return to the good old days of Prost versus Senna, it appears those dreams of fierce conflict are coming true in the season long Hamilton-Verstappen rivalry. All eyes will surely be on these two fiery competitors when racing resumes in Russia in a fortnight to see just what happens next.

That elite double DNF left it to both team’s number two drivers to salvage what they could on the day. While Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas, who was officially jettisoned from the team for next season just this past week, did yeoman’s work to drag himself up from the rear where he was forced to start due to a host of engine component change penalties, the Finn finally found himself bogged down at P4 and trailing the lone surviving Red Bull of Sergio Perez. While it looked like Bottas had finally overtaken Perez on Lap 43, the Red Bull was able to fight back and retake the position when Bottas overcooked the move just a little too much. But Perez was assessed a 5-second time penalty for leaving the track and then gaining an advantage during an earlier pass by the Mexican on Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. That meant that in the end Bottas was elevated to P3 and the last spot on the podium after his remarkably good recovery drive and Perez was demoted to P5 behind Leclerc, who also benefitted greatly from the failure of Verstappen and Hamilton to finish. Carlos Sainz slotted in at P6, making it a good enough day for Ferrari in front of their home fans, but perhaps a little less than totally pleasing, as they watched McLaren, their closest rival in the Constructors’ Standings, grab a terrific haul of points with their spectacular 1-2 finish.

Lance Stroll came home in P7 in his Aston Martin, the two Alpines of Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon were P8 and P10 respectively and George Russell, who will leave Williams for Mercedes next year, finished in P9.

Top 10 finishers of the Italian GP:

POS NO DRIVER CAR LAPS TIME/RETIRED PTS
1 3 Daniel Ricciardo MCLAREN MERCEDES 53 1:21:54.365 26
2 4 Lando Norris MCLAREN MERCEDES 53 +1.747s 18
3 77 Valtteri Bottas MERCEDES 53 +4.921s 15
4 16 Charles Leclerc FERRARI 53 +7.309s 12
5 11 Sergio Perez RED BULL RACING HONDA 53 +8.723s 10
6 55 Carlos Sainz FERRARI 53 +10.535s 8
7 18 Lance Stroll ASTON MARTIN MERCEDES 53 +15.804s 6
8 14 Fernando Alonso ALPINE RENAULT 53 +17.201s 4
9 63 George Russell WILLIAMS MERCEDES 53 +19.742s 2
10 31 Esteban Ocon ALPINE RENAULT 53 +20.868s 1

Complete race results available via Formula1.com.

The next race is in two week’s time, the Russian Grand Prix from the visually stunning Sochi Autodrom on the Black Sea.  Look forward to seeing you then to find out how Verstappen and Hamilton recover from their latest contretemps!

2021 F1 Grand Prix of Italy — Sprint Qualifying results

Bottas wins Sprint Qualifying race at Monza but P2 Verstappen inherits pole due to Mercedes engine penalties; Hamilton finishes down in P5 after poor start, as McLaren take advantage with Ricciardo finishing P3 and Norris P4

The second of Formula 1’s experimental and somewhat gimmicky Sprint Qualifying races this year took place on Saturday at the fabled Temple of Speed, the Autodromo Nazionale in Monza, Italy, and it demonstrated once again what a risky proposition it can be for the top contenders. After Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton earned P1 and P2 for the Sprint race during the normal three-round knockout “qualifying’ that is moved to Friday for these events with the extra mini-race, the team was feeling positive when they kept Red Bull’s Max Verstappen starting behind their men in P3. But Hamilton got a dreadful start in the Sprint when the lights went out and dropped from P2 down to P5, behind not only Verstappen, his only serious title rival, but also the two Mercedes-powered McLarens of Daniel Ricciardo and Lando Norris. To complicate Hamilton’s day even more, a Safety Car was deployed before the end of the first lap when Pierre Gasly’s AlphaTauri speared off the road with a broken front wing and so Norris’ McLaren was therefore able to run several laps at slow speed while the track was cleared, saving his Soft Pirellis significant wear and tear. This, then, enabled the talented young Englishman to keep Hamilton at bay for the remainder of the race because his tires never reached a critical drop off in performance. While Bottas, who is officially out at the Mercedes factory team for next season, swanned away and easily kept Verstappen behind him, Hamilton spent the remaining laps of this 18-lap Sprint trying in vain to get around Norris’ McLaren and somehow make up the positions he threw away at the start. But despite pushing hard throughout, Hamilton could never get close to an overtaking move on Norris and had to settle for a disappointing P5 finish. And while Bottas was able to secure the Sprint win and grab three Championship points, it was almost entirely a pyrrhic victory because the Finn will not start from pole in tomorrow’s Grand Prix but rather from the back of the grid as penalty for replacing several high mileage engine components in his Silver Arrow.

That left Red Bull’s Verstappen the biggest winner of the day because even though he came home P2  he will start from pole in the Grand Prix. He also earned two valuable Championship points to Hamilton’s zero on the day and Hamilton will be mired back in the second row in P4 when he lines up on the grid for the race. The only potential saving grace for Lewis and Mercedes is that they seem to have a genuine pace advantage over Red Bull at this ultra-high speed circuit with its seemingly endless long straights and blindingly fast, sweeping curves. But as the Mercedes team saw today, it’s actually not that easy to pass here at Monza, especially when Hamilton is going to have to first get by both McLarens, which have essentially the same power units under their hoods as Hamilton.

Sprint Qualifying results Top 10:

POS NO DRIVER CAR LAPS TIME/RETIRED PTS
1 77 Valtteri Bottas MERCEDES 18 27:54.078 3
2 33 Max Verstappen RED BULL RACING HONDA 18 +2.325s 2
3 3 Daniel Ricciardo MCLAREN MERCEDES 18 +14.534s 1
4 4 Lando Norris MCLAREN MERCEDES 18 +18.835s 0
5 44 Lewis Hamilton MERCEDES 18 +20.011s 0
6 16 Charles Leclerc FERRARI 18 +23.442s 0
7 55 Carlos Sainz FERRARI 18 +27.952s 0
8 99 Antonio Giovinazzi ALFA ROMEO RACING FERRARI 18 +31.089s 0
9 11 Sergio Perez RED BULL RACING HONDA 18 +31.680s 0
10 18 Lance Stroll ASTON MARTIN MERCEDES 18 +38.671s 0

Complete Sprint results available via Formula1.com.

And this is the actual Top 10 starting grid for tomorrow’s race after Bottas’ penalties are factored in:

POS NO DRIVER CAR
1 33 Max Verstappen RED BULL RACING HONDA
2 3 Daniel Ricciardo MCLAREN MERCEDES
3 4 Lando Norris MCLAREN MERCEDES
4 44 Lewis Hamilton MERCEDES
5 16 Charles Leclerc FERRARI
6 55 Carlos Sainz FERRARI
7 99 Antonio Giovinazzi ALFA ROMEO RACING FERRARI
8 11 Sergio Perez RED BULL RACING HONDA
9 18 Lance Stroll ASTON MARTIN MERCEDES
10 14 Fernando Alonso ALPINE RENAULT

Tomorrow’s Italian GP airs live beginning at 9AM Eastern on ESPN2 here in the States. Hope to see you then to find out if Hamilton can claw his way back to the top step or Verstappen will take his lucky pole and convert it into another victory!

2020 F1 Grand Prix of Italy — Results & aftermath

Gasly takes Cinderella victory at Italian GP after pivotal penalty plunges Hamilton down the order; Sainz a hard-fought P2, Stroll P3 to complete topsy turvy youth power podium

A funny thing happened on the way to the latest Lewis Hamilton coronation during Sunday’s Italian Grand Prix at the ultra-high speed Monza circuit. With the Mercedes ace was once again leading easily and dominating from the front, he and the team made a fatal blunder when they pitted during a Safety Car on Lap 21 while the pits were closed. The lighted signals on the outside of Parabolica en route to the pits are admittedly not that easy to discern for a driver at speed but that cut no ice with the stewards, whose key concern was the safety of the marshals as they pushed the disabled Haas of Kevin Magnussen back towards pit entry in order to clear it as a hazard on track. The verdict hung over Hamilton’s head for some time due to another Safety Car and a resultant Red Flag period after Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc crashed out in scary fashion deforming the tire barrier at that same Parabolica on Lap 25. But eventually Hamilton was assessed the dreaded Stop and Hold penalty +10 seconds for his illegal stop, a drive and park in pit lane to be served under green flag conditions when racing resumed despite his and the team’s protestations.

That put the cat amongst the pigeons for a truly topsy turvy result, as Hamilton was shuffled all the way to the rear of the field investigators he served his penalty, opening the door for some of the usual midfield runners to earn a level of glory that has been nearly impossible to achieve in this long Mercedes-Red Bull-Ferrari big three era. The greatest glory was seized by Frenchman Pierre Gasly for the Italian AlphaTauri team, who drove the last half of the 53-lap race after a second standing restart to end the Red Flag period as if his very career depended on it. A year after he was demoted from the senior Red Bull team the 24-year-old Gasly must have given the Red Bull brain trust second thoughts about that decision, as he held of the determined effort of McLaren’s Carlos Sainz to take an improbable Cinderella victory at Monza. It was Gasly’s first career F1 victory, the first by a Frenchman since Olivier Panis at Monaco in 1996 and his team’s second-ever win — the first since some kid named Sebastian Vettel won for Toro Rosso back in 2008 at this very same circuit.

Pics courtesy GrandPrix247.com

Sainz fought desperately to try and get his own maiden win but came up just short as the laps ran out on him and the tenacious Gasly hung tough against his onslaught ahead. Still, the P2 finish was the 26-year-old Spaniard’s best ever result and he drove a splendid and composed race all around. He has got be having some serious doubt now about his decision to move to Ferrari next season, though, The resurgent McLaren and the pokey Prancing Horse look to be heading in two opposite directions in terms of performance. Racing Point’s Lance Stroll, just 21, claimed the last podium position in P3, making up a very young and unexpected top 3 for this crazy race. To be honest, it was good to see Mercedes get shut out of the victory and podium positions and even if it was a somewhat flukey, one-off result these three young men will carry the glory of this special day with them for the rest of their lives. A few more unpredictable results like this could also be just the tonic that Formula 1 needs to entice a new generation of fans. It’s only too bad that due to COVID-19 precautions there weren’t any actual tifosi in the stands to witness this stunning result.

Sainz’s McLaren teammate Lando Norris took P4 ahead of the Mercedes of Valtteri Bottas to complete a quartet of young guns at the head of the field. Bottas struggled mightily all day, dropping like a stone at the start from P2 to P4 at the end of the opening lap and never looking all that racy afterwards. While the veteran Finn may have picked up some damage as cars rubbed by him he looked to be the driver most affected by the new restrictions on in-race engine mapping and he had a hard time just getting to and then maintaining his final P5 position. The Mercedes Achilles heel of overheating while running behind other cars and not in clean air also may have balked his progress. But at least he can take some small comfort in the fact that he bested his normally superlative teammate’s finish, as Hamilton fought gamely from last after his penalty by passing the nine cars left in front him but could only drag himself up to P7 before the laps ran out. Renault had another good day, if not quite as good as their overachieving midfield rivals and saw Daniel Ricciardo come home P6 and Esteban Ocon P8. The second Racing Point of Sergio Perez took the last point in P10.

As off-kilter a day as Mercedes may have had their two historic rivals had it far worse, Red Bull leader Max Verstappen got off to an uncharacteristically bad start that saw him actually lose positions on the opening lap and was mired in the midfield after the post-Red Flag restart before having to retire his car on Lap 31 for preemptive engine preservation reasons. His teammate Alexander Albon, who all will continue to note replaced Gasly at Red Bull midseason last year, tangled with the eventual race winner going into the first chicane on Lap 1 and was penalized for not leaving a car’s length during the encounter. But the bigger penalty was the damage he picked up in the skirmish and he came home a dismal P15, second to last of the cars still running. It was even worse for Ferrari at their home Grand Prix. Sebastian Vettel suffered terminal brake failure on Lap 6 and had to limp home to retire the car. And as mentioned, Leclerc had a high speed, high-G shunt on Lap 25, which looked to be driver error but that he was thankfully able to walk away from. So as bad as it was that there were no fans to share in Gasly’s improbable run to glory from Ferrari’s perspective it’s probably just as well there weren’t any to witness this latest ignominy for the fabled Scuderia from Maranello.

Top 10 finishers of the Italian GP:

POS NO DRIVER CAR LAPS TIME/RETIRED PTS
1 10 Pierre Gasly ALPHATAURI HONDA 53 1:47:06.056 25
2 55 Carlos Sainz MCLAREN RENAULT 53 +0.415s 18
3 18 Lance Stroll RACING POINT BWT MERCEDES 53 +3.358s 15
4 4 Lando Norris MCLAREN RENAULT 53 +6.000s 12
5 77 Valtteri Bottas MERCEDES 53 +7.108s 10
6 3 Daniel Ricciardo RENAULT 53 +8.391s 8
7 44 Lewis Hamilton MERCEDES 53 +17.245s 7
8 31 Esteban Ocon RENAULT 53 +18.691s 4
9 26 Daniil Kvyat ALPHATAURI HONDA 53 +22.208s 2
10 11 Sergio Perez RACING POINT BWT MERCEDES 53 +23.224s 1

Complete race results available via Formula1.com.

The next race is in but a week’s time — the inaugural Tuscan Grand Prix from the Mugello Circuit, the first time this test track has ever been used in an F1 GP. Perhaps the strange surroundings will produce another entertainingly bizarre result since the drivers are all starting from scratch there. More than likely, Hamilton and Mercedes will return to their dominating form. Hope to see you then to find out either way!

2020 F1 Grand Prix of Italy — Qualifying results

Hamilton pips Bottas for pole at Monza and another Mercedes front row lockout; McLaren’s Sainz and Racing Point’s Perez qualify a surprising P3 and P4, relegating Red Bull’s Verstappen to third row

Mercedes ace Lewis Hamilton’s dominant season continued when he was able to outpace his teammate Valtteri Bottas by a mere six one-hundredths of a second to grab pole for the Italian Grand Prix at the classic high speed Monza circuit during Saturday qualifying. Hamilton, who has now earned living legend status while remaining at the top of his game, extended his F1 pole record to 94, seemingly able to turn up the wick to fend off his hard charging Finnish teammate despite this being the first weekend of the FIA-mandated ban on “party modes” and other performance enhancing engine mapping tricks. Mercedes have now locked out the front row of all but one of the eight Grand Prix this season and the Silver Arrows continue to be on another level from the rest of the field with Hamilton essentially on his own planet at this point.

But, as predictable as the blistering pace of the Mercs was, the rest of quali managed to serve up several surprises. The superb Red Bull RB16 found the limits of its supreme downforce design when the ace pilot Max Vertsappen could set no better than the fifth fastest lap of the final session at this temple of outright speed. That opened the door for the Renault-powered McLaren of Carlos Sainz and the Mercedes-fired Racing Point of Sergio Perez to secure their places in the second row with fast laps good enough for P3 and P4 respectively, pushing Verstappen back into the foreign-for-him third row on the grid. Simply put, Sainz and Perez’s mounts simply had the legs on the Red Bull, at least for one-lap pace, and it wouldnt be totally surprising if one or both maintained that advantage in tomorrow’s race where over 60 percent of a racing lap is taken at full throttle. The second McLaren of Lando Norris will line up alongside Vertsappen after earning a P6 spot on the grid, while the factory Renault of Daniel Ricciardo qualified P7 and the second Racing Point of Lance Stroll set the eighth fastest time. Verstappen’s Red Bull teammate Alexander Albon struggled all day with strict enforcement of track limits by the stewards and could muster only the ninth fastest time, while AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly was the last the top ten starters.

Finally, Ferrari’s dismal 2020 continued in ignominious fashion when Charles Leclerc drove the wheels of his Prancing Horse in Q2 and still did not advance. He’ll have to settle for P13 on the grid. Meanwhile Sebastian Vettel got bounced in Q1 again after getting tangled up in a gaggle of other midfield runners all trying to inhabit the exact same space on the circuit for their final runs in the first session. It is actually a good thing there were no fans at Monza to witness this year’s Ferraris’ brutal lack of pace. One can be sure, however, that the corporate chieftains at the factory in Maranello just up the road from here were watching today’s woeful proceedings with a rather jaundiced eyes.

Top 10 qualifiers for then Italian GP:

POS NO DRIVER CAR Q1 Q2 Q3 LAPS
1 44 Lewis Hamilton MERCEDES 1:19.514 1:19.092 1:18.887 18
2 77 Valtteri Bottas MERCEDES 1:19.786 1:18.952 1:18.956 18
3 55 Carlos Sainz MCLAREN RENAULT 1:20.099 1:19.705 1:19.695 16
4 11 Sergio Perez RACING POINT BWT MERCEDES 1:20.048 1:19.718 1:19.720 17
5 33 Max Verstappen RED BULL RACING HONDA 1:20.193 1:19.780 1:19.795 17
6 4 Lando Norris MCLAREN RENAULT 1:20.344 1:19.962 1:19.820 18
7 3 Daniel Ricciardo RENAULT 1:20.548 1:20.031 1:19.864 16
8 18 Lance Stroll RACING POINT BWT MERCEDES 1:20.400 1:19.924 1:20.049 19
9 23 Alexander Albon RED BULL RACING HONDA 1:21.104 1:20.064 1:20.090 19
10 10 Pierre Gasly ALPHATAURI HONDA 1:20.145 1:19.909 1:20.177 20

Complete qualifying results available via Formula1.com.

Tomorrow’s race airs live on ESPN beginning at 9AM Eastern here in the States. Can anyone stop Lewis Hamilton’s assault on the Formula 1 record book? I wouldn’t bet on it but hope to see you then to find out how it all shakes out!

2019 F1 Grand Prix of Italy — Results & aftermath

Leclerc holds off two Mercedes for second consecutive win in front of delirious Ferrari fans at Monza; Bottas P2, Hamilton P3; Vettel spins out of the points early

Rising star Charles Leclerc earned his second consecutive win and a permanent place in the hearts of Ferrari fans with a hard fought victory at Autodromo Nazionale Monza in Italy on Sunday. Coming off his first career win at historic Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium a week ago Leclerc arguably topped that personal first by fighting off both formidable Mercedes to take the win in front of the delirious tifosi at what Ferrari and Italians in general have always considered the most important race of the year. Using every defending skill and trick in his arsenal to hold off the Silver Arrows of first Lewis Hamilton and then Valtteri Bottas, Leclerc delivered the first Monza win for the famed Scuderia from just up the road in Maranello since 2010 when Fernando Alonso took the honors. The Ferrari SF90 now has reliably superior straight line speed to the Mercedes and the ultra-fast Monza circuit was the perfect proving ground for that, confirming the post-summer break trend that began at Spa. While it is too late for Leclerc to come anywhere close to challenging Hamilton for the title this season the talented Monegasque served notice that he could be the English 5-time champion’s biggest rival in the coming years.

Pics courtesy GrandPrix247.com

Leclerc led from pole and he and Hamilton made their first stop for tires a lap apart, with Hamilton boxing on Lap 20 just one lap before Leclerc came in on Lap 21. But Ferrari opted to put Leclerc on the Hard Pirelli compound while Mercedes opted for Medium tires. It was an intriguing decision by Ferrari with potential pitfalls if Leclerc could not make the Hard tires work effectively for the remainder of the race. He was the only driver that opted for this strategy. The two contenders on their different tire compounds promptly began battling for the lead in spirited fashion and when Hamilton tried to make the pass on Lap 23 after closing the gap to within a whisker’s distance Leclerc essentially shoved Hamilton off track to maintain his lead. Leclerc was shown the black and white flag for that but that only serves as a caution against future behavior and is not a penalty. Similarly, when Hamilton had reloaded and made another go at Leclerc on Lap 36 after two brief Virtual Safety Car periods Leclerc locked up through the edge of the chicane and drove straight over the curbs. But the stewards ruled that he gained no real advantage over Hamilton even while rejoining in front of the Mercedes. By this time Hamilton’s tires were going off and his teammate Bottas, who had stayed out longer on his first stint than the two frontrunners and pitted on Lap 28 for his own set of Mediums, was closing down both of the leaders from his P3 position. When Hamilton had a lockup of his own on Lap 42 of the 53 lap contest and had to take the escape route into the chicane it was clear his tires were shot. Bottas easily inherited P2 without any internecine warfare and set about trying to catch Leclerc to try and take the victory for himself.

But Leclerc had other ideas on this day. Continue reading →

2019 F1 Grand Prix of Italy — Qualifying results

Ascendent Leclerc grabs second consecutive pole as Ferrari look strong for home race; Hamilton P2 & Bottas P3 in messy quali as teams get timing wrong for late runs in Q3

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc grabbed his second pole position in a row in a strange Saturday qualifying for tomorrow’s Italian Grand Prix. In front of the rabidly pro-Ferrari tifosi in the stands of the legendary Autodromo Nazionale Monza, the fastest of F1 circuits, Leclerc laid down a storming lap early in Q3. That ended up as the best time when nearly all the teams inexplicably left it too late later in the session and all but McLaren’s Carlos Sainz failed to make the start line prior to Q3 expiring. It was a strange ending but the Ferrari faithful will take the result of having their young Monegasque hero on the pole even if the confusion at the end of Q3 prevented Sebastian Vettel from bettering his P4 time. The two Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas split the Prancing Horses and will start P2 and P3 respectively. Hamilton will be looking to put young Leclerc back in his place while Leclerc will be looking to maximize the SF90s newly superior pace to score his second consecutive win tomorrow. With the two elite teams of the sport lining up side by side in the first two rows the start could well be the pivotal moment of the race.

Further back on the grid, Renault found startlingly good pace with their chassis’ downforce defects turning into advantages at ultra-quick Monza. Daniel Ricciardo set the fifth fastest time while his teammate Nico Huikenberg was P6. Sainz pulled his McLaren up to P7 by dint of persistence and running the most laps of any other runner, while the Red Bull of Alexander Albon could do no better than a P8 time in his second qualifying effort for the team since being promoted for the Belgian GP a week ago. His more heralded teammate Max Verstappen barely made an appearance in Q1 and will start at the back of the grid due to engine penalties. Racing Point’s Lance Stroll earned a solid P9 on the grid while Kimi Raikkonen, who caused a longish red flag period in Q3 after losing it in the Parabolica and backing into the barriers, is slated to start P10 but may face grid-spot penalties if he damaged his gearbox in the incident.

Top 10 qualifiers for the Italian GP:

POS NO DRIVER CAR Q1 Q2 Q3 LAPS
1 16 Charles Leclerc FERRARI 1:20.126 1:19.553 1:19.307 18
2 44 Lewis Hamilton MERCEDES 1:20.272 1:19.464 1:19.346 16
3 77 Valtteri Bottas MERCEDES 1:20.156 1:20.018 1:19.354 17
4 5 Sebastian Vettel FERRARI 1:20.378 1:19.715 1:19.457 17
5 3 Daniel Ricciardo RENAULT 1:20.374 1:19.833 1:19.839 13
6 27 Nico Hulkenberg RENAULT 1:20.155 1:20.275 1:20.049 14
7 55 Carlos Sainz MCLAREN RENAULT 1:20.413 1:20.202 1:20.455 20
8 23 Alexander Albon RED BULL RACING HONDA 1:20.382 1:20.021 DNF 15
9 18 Lance Stroll RACING POINT BWT MERCEDES 1:20.643 1:20.498 DNF 19
10 7 Kimi Räikkönen ALFA ROMEO RACING FERRARI 1:20.634 1:20.515 DNF 16

Complete qualifying results available via Formula1.com.

Tomorrow’s race airs live on ESPN2 beginning at 9AM Eastern here in the States. Hope to see you then to find out if Ferrari can win in front of the home fans or if Mercedes will spoil the Prancing Horses’ party!

2018 F1 Grand Prix of Italy — Results & aftermath

Hamilton and Mercedes outbox & outfox Ferrari for victory at Monza; Raikkonen salvages P2; Bottas elevated to P3 after Verstappen penalty

Mercedes came to Monza and played the team game so well and with such aplomb that they took the race from Ferrari in their own backyard. With forceful and assertive driving from their ace Lewis Hamilton and then impeccable teamwork from Valtteri Bottas and the strategists on the pit wall, the Silver Arrows outlasted and outperformed the Prancing Horses despite the ardent wishes for a victory from the passionate tifosi in the stands. In the end victory at the Italian Grand Prix was Hamilton’s after elbowing the Sucderia’s Sebastian Vettel out of his way on the first lap and then passing the pole-sitting Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen late in the race with fresher tires. Hamilton could not have done it without Bottas, who stretched his first stint to hold up Raikkonen forcing the veteran Finn to use up precious rubber and enabling Hamilton to close him down.

Pics courtesy Grand Prix247.com

The action began on Lap 1 with Raikkonen, who had set the fatest F1 lap ever in Saturday qualifying for pole, getting away to a good start and holding off his teammate Vettel, who started beside him in P2 on the grid. But Hamilton, who was directly behind the Ferraris in the second row in P3 alongside his wingman Bottas, was aggressive from the get-go and made a diving move into the Variente del Rettifilo chicane directly alongside Vettel’s blood red car. Vettel appeared to try to shut the door but Hamilton’s Merc was already slipping past him. The two touched and Vettel got the worst of it with a costly spin and damage to his front wing while Hamilton cruised ahead unscathed. The contact was correctly ruled a racing incident by the stewards and fortunately for Vettel a Safety Car was deployed due to the terminally wounded Toro Rosso of Brendon Hartley needing retrieval from the track. Nonetheless, Vettel was now consigned to trying to salvage what he could from the day rather than potentially competing for the win.

When the race resumed and the Safety Car was withdrawn at the ned of Lap 3 it quickly settled down into a less frenetic rhythm. Raikkonen continued to lead and Hamilton continued to pursue but not that hard yet, with the Englishman content to combine speed with tire preservation. It would paid off for Hamilton and luck was also a factor. Raikkonen was called into the pits on Lap 21, getting off the Super Soft Pirellis for the more durable Softs, while Hamilton continued to pound around looking to shave as much as possible off the pit stop delta so that he might be closer when his time came to swap tires. Hamilton and Mercedes also caught a break when the Red Bull of the unlucky Daniel Ricciardo expired once again on track on Lap 24 but that only resulted in a local yellow flag not a Safety Car of VSC. Hamilton ran on his first set of Super Softs all the way to Lap 28, also going onto the Softs, and when he reemerged he was in P3 behind his teammate Bottas, who had yet to stop, and Raikkonen, who was desperate to get by his fellow Finn.

But despite his fresher rubber Raikkonen could not get close enough to Bottas to make a move. Continue reading →

2018 F1 Grand Prix of Italy — Qualifying results

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 NO DRIVER CAR Q1 Q2 Q3 LAPS
1 7 Kimi Räikkönen FERRARI 1:20.722 1:19.846 1:19.119 21
2 5 Sebastian Vettel FERRARI 1:20.542 1:19.629 1:19.280 20
3 44 Lewis Hamilton MERCEDES 1:20.810 1:19.798 1:19.294 20
4 77 Valtteri Bottas MERCEDES 1:21.381 1:20.427 1:19.656 18
5 33 Max Verstappen RED BULL RACING TAG HEUER 1:21.381 1:20.333 1:20.615 15
6 8 Romain Grosjean HAAS FERRARI 1:21.887 1:21.239 1:20.936 21
7 55 Carlos Sainz RENAULT 1:21.732 1:21.552 1:21.041 17
8 31 Esteban Ocon FORCE INDIA MERCEDES 1:21.570 1:21.315 1:21.099 17
9 10 Pierre Gasly SCUDERIA TORO ROSSO HONDA 1:21.834 1:21.667 1:21.350 24
10 18 Lance Stroll WILLIAMS MERCEDES 1:21.838 1:21.494 1:21.627 14

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!

2017 F1 Grand Prix of Italy — Results & aftermath

Hamilton dominates Monza for Mercedes, takes Championship lead; Bottas chips in with strong P2, Vettel settles for P3 for Ferrari in front of tifosi

On a race day that was the exact opposite of Saturday’s water logged qualifying, Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton nonetheless vaulted from his wet weather record setting pole position to dominate the Italian Grand Prix at legendary Monza. No one could touch the English championship aspirant as he used his all-time best 89th pole position to run away from a scrambled grid and claim a relatively easy win on this ultra-high speed circuit. Better yet, Hamilton’s Silver Arrows teammate Valtteri Bottas redeemed himself after a poor qualifying effort saw him start from a lowly P6. But with the sun shining the Finn was ready for the fight willing his way past not only both Ferraris but also the other unlikely upstart drivers blocking his path. If Bottas was never as dominant as Hamilton he proved second fastest in Monza by a wide margin coming home an ever-valuable P2 for Mercedes, which put serious distance between themselves & Ferrari in the Constructors’ Championship by dint of their barely contested 1-2 finish.

Pics courtesy GrandPrix247com

Ferrari’s de facto home track proved less than suitable to this year’s iteration of Prancing Horses. After being bested in that epically wet quali by not only both Red Bulls but also midfield runners from Williams and Force India the Scuderia had to be very grateful for the demotion of those rivalrous Red Bulls due to engine component change penalties. Sure enough their lead ace, Sebastian Vettel, was able to overcome his now P6 starting position to jump his teammate Kimi Raikkonen and then go full tilt at the upstarts in front of him, Lance Stroll of Williams and Esteban Ocon of Force India. Vettel got them both in due time and settled into P3 after it became clear he had nothing for the two Mercedes men running well ahead of him. He maintained that position to the end for the last step on the podium, giving the tifosi at least some reason to be happy on a day when the German Silver Arrows marched into Italy and spoiled the planned Ferrari festivities. But with Hamilton’s recent run of victories — he’s the first diver to win back-to-back races in this very competitive season and has now won three out of the last four — Vettel now finds himself pushed out of the top spot in the Drivers’ Championship standings. The German 4-time champ now trails his English rival by 3 points, the first time Vettel hasn’t been at least tied for the lead all year.

Vettel’s teammate Kimi Raikkonen struggled with rear grip early in then race, was never a podium factor and could do no better than P5. Splitting the two Prancing Horses was Daniel Ricciardo who drove his Red Bull to a remarkable 4th place finish after starting way back in P16 due to a raft of engine component penalties. The affable Aussie put on a clinic of overtaking including a power move into the Turn 1 chicane on Raikkonen that sealed the Iceman’s fate as an also-ran. Ricciardo’s precocious teammate Max Vertstappen looked to be matching his teammate in moving to the front but continued his star crossed ways this season when he negated his terrific start by coming into contact with Williams’ Felipe Massa, leading to a puncture. By the time the Dutch wunderkind limped back to the pits for service he was dead last. But to his credit Verstappen didn’t give up on the race despite yet another 2017 misfortune. His car stayed spry and young Max doggedly worked his way up through the back markers, picking them off one by one. As the laps wound down he was so determined to score points he shoved Haas’ Kevin Magnussen off the road to grab P10 and the last points paying position, showing once again the ruthlessness and talent that may one day bring him a title. If he can ever find some good luck again.

Esteban Ocon of Force Indiia and Lance Stroll of Williams, the two rookies who started P3 and P2 on the grid respectively after their impressive wet weather qualifying, couldn’t quite maintain their lofty positions in the dry race. Nonetheless they both performed admirably and came home safely and with a raft of valuable points for their teams. Ocon was slightly superior and passed Stroll, making the most of being away from his pesky teammate Sergio Perez to come home a very solid P6. And though Stroll could never find a way by Ocon again the young Canadian was able to hold off his veteran teammate Felipe Massa and take P7 at the checkered flag. The hard charging Massa ended up P8 and Perez was right behind in P9. So very good day for Force India and an even better one for previously struggling Williams who were able to find mystery pace not only for the flukey wet qualifying but also in the dry race, securing a much-needed cache of points.

Top 10 finishers of the Italian Grand Prix:

POS NO DRIVER CAR LAPS TIME/RETIRED PTS
1 44 Lewis Hamilton MERCEDES 53 1:15:32.312 25
2 77 Valtteri Bottas MERCEDES 53 +4.471s 18
3 5 Sebastian Vettel FERRARI 53 +36.317s 15
4 3 Daniel Ricciardo RED BULL RACING TAG HEUER 53 +40.335s 12
5 7 Kimi Räikkönen FERRARI 53 +60.082s 10
6 31 Esteban Ocon FORCE INDIA MERCEDES 53 +71.528s 8
7 18 Lance Stroll WILLIAMS MERCEDES 53 +74.156s 6
8 19 Felipe Massa WILLIAMS MERCEDES 53 +74.834s 4
9 11 Sergio Perez FORCE INDIA MERCEDES 53 +75.276s 2
10 33 Max Verstappen RED BULL RACING TAG HEUER 52 +1 lap 1

Complete race results available via Formula1.com.

The next race is in two weeks time, the beautifully incandescent night race on the tight & twisty streets of Singapore. With a lower speed course much better suited to Ferrari than Mercedes and Vettel desperate to regain his championship lead over Hamilton with the races dwindling it should be a pleasingly frought — and hard-fought — affair between two ultra-competitive athletes. Hope to see you then to find out how it all shakes out!

2017 F1 Grand Prix of Italy — Qualifying results

Mercedes’ Hamilton captures record pole after long rain delay at Monza; Red Bull’s Verstappen & Ricciarado come home 2-3 but raft of penalties scramble field — Williams’ Stroll inherits P2, Ocon P3 for Force India

After an interminable rain delay in Monza that seemed sure to scrap Saturday qualifying, Formula 1 was near-miraculously able to get all three sessions in despite the deluge. And that very wet and wild qualifying session wound up producing a major bit of history at this legendary circuit in Italy. With conditions deteriorating rapidly yet again as the seconds wound down in Q3 and drivers setting times all over the place without consideration of their usual favored status, Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton showed yet again that he is a man for all seasons. The last car to cross the finish line in the last qualifying session, the English championship contender earned a hard-fought pole position, breaking Formula 1’s all-time record and a tie with the great Michael Schumacher for the 69th of his remarkable career. That the Mercedes man did it in front of diehard Ferrari fanatics in pursuit of their hero and points leader Sebastian Vettel must have made it that much sweeter for the ultra-competitive Hamilton.

Red Bull also did very well in the rain, maximizing their cars’ natural superority in downforce and stability in tricky conditions to come home P2 for Max Verstappen and P3 for Daniel Ricciardo. But both drivers are facing hefty penalties for engine modifications and they will have to start from further back on the grid than their earned positions and well outside the Top 10. That meant that Williams’ rookie Lance was bumped up to P2 and Force India’s talented Esteban Ocon inherited P3.

Hamilton’s teammate Valtteri Bottas out-qualified both Ferraris — though strangely not the Williams or Force India — and will start from P4 after the Red Bulls demotion. The unhappy Prancing Horses therefore find themselves starting mired back in P5 for Kimi Raikkonen and P6 for Vettel. But in front of what is sure to be a very vocal throng of tifosi perhaps all that Italian home cooking can nourish the Ferraris to greater heights come race day.

Also getting into the Tope 10 were Stroll’s Williams teammate Felipe Massa and the McLaren of Stoffel Vandoorne with an excellent effort.

In an effort to clarify things on a confusing day, below find the actual quali times follow by the actual grid after all the penalties have been factored in.

Here are the Top 10 times in qualifying:

POS NO DRIVER CAR Q1 Q2 Q3 LAPS
1 44 Lewis Hamilton MERCEDES 1:36.009 1:34.660 1:35.554 29
2 33 Max Verstappen RED BULL RACING TAG HEUER 1:37.344 1:36.113 1:36.702 29
3 3 Daniel Ricciardo RED BULL RACING TAG HEUER 1:38.304 1:37.313 1:36.841 26
4 18 Lance Stroll WILLIAMS MERCEDES 1:37.653 1:37.002 1:37.032 27
5 31 Esteban Ocon FORCE INDIA MERCEDES 1:38.775 1:37.580 1:37.719 29
6 77 Valtteri Bottas MERCEDES 1:35.716 1:35.396 1:37.833 29
7 7 Kimi Räikkönen FERRARI 1:38.235 1:37.031 1:37.987 30
8 5 Sebastian Vettel FERRARI 1:37.198 1:36.223 1:38.064 28
9 19 Felipe Massa WILLIAMS MERCEDES 1:38.338 1:37.456 1:38.251 27
10 2 Stoffel Vandoorne MCLAREN HONDA 1:38.767 1:37.471 1:39.157 25

However these are the penalties for use of additional power unit elements: Alonso 35 grid places, Ricciardo 20, Verstappen 20, Sainz 10, Hulkenberg 10, Palmer 15. Ricciardo penalized a further 5 places for an unscheduled gearbox change.

Therefore here is the actual Top !0 grid for the race:

POS DRIVER CAR TIME GAP
1 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1m35.554s –
2 Lance Stroll Williams/Mercedes 1m37.032s 1.478s
3 Esteban Ocon Force India/Mercedes 1m37.719s 2.165s
4 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 1m37.833s 2.279s
5 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 1m37.987s 2.433s
6 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1m38.064s 2.510s
7 Felipe Massa Williams/Mercedes 1m38.251s 2.697s
8 Stoffel Vandoorne McLaren/Honda 1m39.157s 3.603s
9 Sergio Perez Force India/Mercedes 1m37.582s 2.028s
10 Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso/Renault 1m38.245s 2.691s

Complete grid available via Autosport.com.

Tomorrow’s Italian GP airs live starting at 8AM Eastern on NBC Sports here in the States. What will the weather bring on Sunday and can Ferrari fight back to be a factor come when the lights go out? Hope to see you then to find out!