[gmsabu]
Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton are poised to pick up where they left off at the end of the Belgian Grand Prix, which ended with the Mercedes driver piling pressure on his Ferrari rival.
And their team mates are lined up behind them in the opposite order, which promises to add tactical intrigue to proceedings.
Last year Ferrari locked out the front row of the grid at Monza. But Mercedes punctured their defences on the first lap, Hamilton pressuring Sebastian Vettel into a mistake. That allowed them to use both cars to grind race leader Kimi Raikkonen down, opening the door for Hamilton to take the win.
As the grid lines up Mercedes could play a similar game again, bringing one car in early and the other later, limiting Leclerc’s ability to cover off both strategies. However as long as Vettel behind them remains in play, that is going to complicate the picture.
Ferrari’s straight-line speed advantage is likely to give Mercedes another headache. Vettel may be quick enough to zip past them on the straights using DRS.Another factor which will complicate the strategic picture for Mercedes is the fact the midfield are quite a bit quicker this year. This year as last the top four on the grid are all Ferraris and Mercedes. But 12 months ago the fifth-placed car was almost one-and-a-half seconds off the pole position time. This year the corresponding figure is half a second, whereas 1.5 seconds covers the top 13.
Therefore the field is likely to spread out more slowly behind the race leaders. They will therefore find it harder to find gaps in the traffic to emerge in after making their pit stops, especially if an early Safety Car bunches the field up after the start.
The field would surely be even closer to the front runners if Max Verstappen had been able to set a competitive time in qualifying. However a power unit penalty means he will start from the back. He was right up with the quickest times in qualifying, so expect him to make a spectacular charge towards the front. Will he be able to catch team mate Alexander Albon?
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Qualifying times in full
| Driver | Car | Q1 | Q2 (vs Q1) | Q3 (vs Q2) | |
| 1 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1’20.126 | 1’19.553 (-0.573) | 1’19.307 (-0.246) |
| 2 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1’20.272 | 1’19.464 (-0.808) | 1’19.346 (-0.118) |
| 3 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | 1’20.156 | 1’20.018 (-0.138) | 1’19.354 (-0.664) |
| 4 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 1’20.378 | 1’19.715 (-0.663) | 1’19.457 (-0.258) |
| 5 | Daniel Ricciardo | Renault | 1’20.374 | 1’19.833 (-0.541) | 1’19.839 (+0.006) |
| 6 | Nico Hulkenberg | Renault | 1’20.155 | 1’20.275 (+0.120) | 1’20.049 (-0.226) |
| 7 | Carlos Sainz Jnr | McLaren | 1’20.413 | 1’20.202 (-0.211) | 1’20.455 (+0.253) |
| 8 | Alexander Albon | Red Bull | 1’20.382 | 1’20.021 (-0.361) | |
| 9 | Lance Stroll | Racing Point | 1’20.643 | 1’20.498 (-0.145) | |
| 10 | Kimi Raikkonen | Alfa Romeo | 1’20.634 | 1’20.515 (-0.119) | |
| 11 | Antonio Giovinazzi | Alfa Romeo | 1’20.657 | 1’20.517 (-0.140) | |
| 12 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas | 1’20.616 | 1’20.615 (-0.001) | |
| 13 | Daniil Kvyat | Toro Rosso | 1’20.723 | 1’20.630 (-0.093) | |
| 14 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 1’20.646 | 1’21.068 (+0.422) | |
| 15 | Pierre Gasly | Toro Rosso | 1’20.508 | 1’21.125 (+0.617) | |
| 16 | Romain Grosjean | Haas | 1’20.784 | ||
| 17 | Sergio Perez | Racing Point | 1’21.291 | ||
| 18 | George Russell | Williams | 1’21.800 | ||
| 19 | Robert Kubica | Williams | 1’22.356 | ||
| 20 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull |
Sector times
| Driver | Sector 1 | Sector 2 | Sector 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Charles Leclerc | 26.469 (1) | 26.412 (4) | 26.426 (5) |
| Lewis Hamilton | 26.702 (6) | 26.203 (2) | 26.264 (1) |
| Valtteri Bottas | 26.795 (11) | 26.152 (1) | 26.407 (4) |
| Sebastian Vettel | 26.565 (2) | 26.330 (3) | 26.393 (3) |
| Daniel Ricciardo | 26.589 (3) | 26.592 (7) | 26.573 (6) |
| Nico Hulkenberg | 26.676 (5) | 26.670 (8) | 26.629 (9) |
| Carlos Sainz Jnr | 26.807 (12) | 26.746 (10) | 26.580 (7) |
| Alexander Albon | 26.743 (9) | 26.499 (5) | 26.391 (2) |
| Lance Stroll | 26.652 (4) | 27.078 (16) | 26.673 (11) |
| Kimi Raikkonen | 26.702 (6) | 26.885 (11) | 26.614 (8) |
| Antonio Giovinazzi | 26.714 (8) | 26.961 (13) | 26.758 (13) |
| Kevin Magnussen | 26.770 (10) | 26.987 (14) | 26.738 (12) |
| Daniil Kvyat | 27.022 (16) | 26.736 (9) | 26.637 (10) |
| Lando Norris | 26.965 (14) | 26.895 (12) | 26.786 (14) |
| Pierre Gasly | 27.050 (17) | 26.507 (6) | 26.807 (15) |
| Romain Grosjean | 26.858 (13) | 27.077 (15) | 26.849 (16) |
| Sergio Perez | 26.992 (15) | 27.431 (19) | 26.868 (17) |
| George Russell | 27.313 (18) | 27.198 (17) | 27.252 (18) |
| Robert Kubica | 27.366 (19) | 27.421 (18) | 27.569 (19) |
| Max Verstappen | 29.060 (20) | 36.435 (20) | 31.980 (20) |
Speed trap
| Pos | Driver | Car | Engine | Speed (kph/mph) | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sergio Perez | Racing Point | Mercedes | 349.7 (217.3) | |
| 2 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | Ferrari | 349.7 (217.3) | -0.0 |
| 3 | Lance Stroll | Racing Point | Mercedes | 349.5 (217.2) | -0.2 |
| 4 | Carlos Sainz Jnr | McLaren | Renault | 346.1 (215.1) | -3.6 |
| 5 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | Ferrari | 346.0 (215.0) | -3.7 |
| 6 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas | Ferrari | 345.0 (214.4) | -4.7 |
| 7 | Alexander Albon | Red Bull | Honda | 344.6 (214.1) | -5.1 |
| 8 | Nico Hulkenberg | Renault | Renault | 344.4 (214.0) | -5.3 |
| 9 | Daniel Ricciardo | Renault | Renault | 344.2 (213.9) | -5.5 |
| 10 | George Russell | Williams | Mercedes | 343.5 (213.4) | -6.2 |
| 11 | Kimi Raikkonen | Alfa Romeo | Ferrari | 342.7 (212.9) | -7.0 |
| 12 | Daniil Kvyat | Toro Rosso | Honda | 342.6 (212.9) | -7.1 |
| 13 | Antonio Giovinazzi | Alfa Romeo | Ferrari | 342.5 (212.8) | -7.2 |
| 14 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | Mercedes | 342.5 (212.8) | -7.2 |
| 15 | Pierre Gasly | Toro Rosso | Honda | 342.4 (212.8) | -7.3 |
| 16 | Robert Kubica | Williams | Mercedes | 340.9 (211.8) | -8.8 |
| 17 | Romain Grosjean | Haas | Ferrari | 340.8 (211.8) | -8.9 |
| 18 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | Mercedes | 338.3 (210.2) | -11.4 |
| 19 | Lando Norris | McLaren | Renault | 334.8 (208.0) | -14.9 |
| 20 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | Honda | 331.8 (206.2) | -17.9 |
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Over to you
Will Ferrari score their first home win since 2010? And where will Max Verstappen finish from the back of the grid?
Share your views on the Italian Grand Prix in the comments.
2019 Italian Grand Prix
- ‘No simple rules fix’ for F1’s Monza Q3 farce
- Monza Q3 farce unlikely to be repeated this year – Verstappen
- Top ten pictures from the 2019 Italian Grand Prix
- Teams should have helped Vettel and Stroll avoid Ascari incidents – Masi
- 2019 Italian Grand Prix Star Performers
Chaitanya
8th September 2019, 11:24
More important question is does he have motivation to protect from Mercedes attack especially when yesterday after quali he was sour about his own teammate?
David BR (@david-br)
8th September 2019, 11:51
That’s been one of the two questions at Ferrari since the start of the season: how long would it take Leclerc to become established as number one driver? And how will Vettel respond? Imagine if Ferrari had been clearly ahead since the start of the season, as predicted. This would be the story. It has all the ingredients of 2007, Hamilton-Alonso. Yesterday’s qualifying tiff between Leclerc and Vettel was even reminiscent of Hungary 2007, which obviously exploded everything. Vettel isn’t an Alonso, though, for good and bad. He could have a good race today but the crunch will be if he’s running behind Leclerc and Ferrari think they need to pit him early to mess up the Mercedes. A huge sacrifice to make at Monza (the kind even Raikkonen didn’t want to make last year, which also lead to trouble).
Jere (@jerejj)
8th September 2019, 11:32
Will Ferrari score their first home win since 2010? – Yes.
And where will Max Verstappen finish from the back of the grid? – 6th.
MG1982 (@mg1982)
8th September 2019, 12:07
Look at those top speeds! I guess Ferrari’s PU might went out of the window suddenly. This new myth created by HAM/Mercedes fans that Ferrari have by far the best engine actually vanished after the FPs, when Mercedes kept Ferrari more than honest.
VET can protect LEC only if he manages to overtake both Mercedes cars in the 1st lap. But, if that happens, then it might means he’s fast enough get LEC too. If not, then maybe use him as a road barrier when HAM will get out of the pits. Only that I don’t think it will work well on this particular track, plus HAM will have fresh tyres.
Only Facts!
8th September 2019, 12:44
Vettel won’t play ball. He will go for the kill in the first lap.
Disavantage is all Leclerc’s. No tow, long straights, no cover.
Mercedes will exploit Ferrari’s tyre wear again, and won’t be in a rush to take first place. Some tyre saving here and there, some fuel saving too, a bluff and an undercut.
Of course that may change If somebody gets in the mix at pit stops, like Albon or Ricciardo.
Verstappen and RBR will play the long game, save some engine for Suzuka and collect the points.
What about a light rain?
RocketTankski
8th September 2019, 14:35
“Ferrari or Red Bull – what is Fernando Alonso’s next move?” the Beeb suggests Fernando could be Leclercs new team mate :-D
Blaize Falconberger (@)
8th September 2019, 14:40
The answer is NO… Haha….