Valtteri Bottas will start the Italian Grand Prix sprint qualifying race from pole position after overhauling team mate Lewis Hamilton with his final lap of Friday qualifying.
Max Verstappen will line up behind the pair after a superb lap at the beginning of Q3.
Q1
Before qualifying drivers were advised to keep their speed up in between flying laps to avoid the hazard of delaying rivals on their flying laps. “Drivers must stay below the maximum time set by the FIA between the Safety Car lines,” they were instructed ahead of the commencement of Friday’s regular qualifying ahead of Saturday’s sprint race.Despite that, several drivers had near-misses with slower cars. The stewards noted two incidents for later review, both involving Nikita Mazepin. One, a potential unsafe release from his garage involving Charles Leclerc, was dismissed, but the stewards chose to investigate an on-track incident between the Haas driver and Kubica.
The Ferrari driver had other problems. After he and Carlos Sainz Jnr were the first drivers to join the track when the session began, he reported a problem with his SF21.
“Is everything fine with the car?” he asked. “With engine braking especially.” After he was told to pit Leclerc asked again – “there is something, right, something felt wrong” – and was told an explanation would come back in the garage, away from the microphones.
The final flurry of laps originally seemed to bring disappointment for George Russell in his first qualifying session after being announced as a 2022 Mercedes driver. A late improvement by Fernando Alonso initially left the Williams driver in the drop zone.
However the stewards deleted Yuki Tsunoda’s final lap time for a track limits infringement, plunging the AlphaTauri driver into the bottom five and out, to Russell’s benefit. The Haas drivers dropped out as usual, but Mick Schumacher took advantage of Robert Kubica’s unfamiliarity with his car to put a car between him and his team mate.
Drivers eliminated in Q1
| 16 | Nicholas Latifi | Williams-Mercedes | 1’21.925 |
| 17 | Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri-Honda | 1’21.973 |
| 18 | Mick Schumacher | Haas-Ferrari | 1’22.248 |
| 19 | Robert Kubica | Alfa Romeo-Ferrari | 1’22.530 |
| 20 | Nikita Mazepin | Haas-Ferrari | 1’22.716 |
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Q2
There was another, potentially more serious near-miss in the pits as the drivers emerged virtually at once for their final runs in Q2. The Aston Martin drivers drove into the fast lane as Lewis Hamilton was passing by, which got far too close for comfort for one team member who was standing between the cars. The stewards announced the incident would be investigated.
The Mercedes pair continued to set the pace, while Lando Norris moved up to third with his final run. Verstappen, whose first run wasn’t strong, moved up to fourth by the end of proceedings.
But team mate Sergio Perez, who helped Verstappen out with a tow, only made the cut by three-hundredths of a second. Vettel, the first to be eliminated, reckoned he was close to making it. “I’m sorry, I think I had a bit in turn six, maybe I took it a bit too easy for the traffic,” he told his team. “Not much, maybe a couple of hundredths.”
The Alpine pair dropped out as well along with Russell. However Antonio Giovinazzi impressed again, progressing into Q3 for the third time this season at his home race.
Drivers eliminated in Q2
| 11 | Sebastian Vettel | Aston Martin-Mercedes | 1’20.913 |
| 12 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin-Mercedes | 1’21.020 |
| 13 | Fernando Alonso | Alpine-Renault | 1’21.069 |
| 14 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine-Renault | 1’21.103 |
| 15 | George Russell | Williams-Mercedes | 1’21.392 |
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Q3
Verstappen produced a superb lap at the start of Q3 – aided again by his team mate – to shrink the gap to Hamilton. The Mercedes driver wasn’t able to recreate his Q2 pace immediately, and Verstappen lapped just 17 thousandths of a second off his time.
With Bottas losing out to the McLaren drivers, Mercedes went into the final runs in a weakened position. However Bottas produced a superb drive with his final lap, eking out almost a tenth of a second over Hamilton to grab pole position.
Verstappen could find no more time after his superb first run, and the gap between him and the Mercedes drivers opened up to almost four-tenths of a second. The McLaren drivers fell fractionally short of beating him – less than three-hundredths of a second covering the trio.
Pierre Gasly claimed sixth ahead of the Ferrari drivers. Charles Leclerc took eighth despite wrestling with his car problems throughout the session. Perez could only managed ninth ahead of Giovinazzi.
Top ten in Q3
| 1 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | 1’19.555 |
| 2 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1’19.651 |
| 3 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull-Honda | 1’19.966 |
| 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren-Mercedes | 1’19.989 |
| 5 | Daniel Ricciardo | McLaren-Mercedes | 1’19.995 |
| 6 | Pierre Gasly | AlphaTauri-Honda | 1’20.260 |
| 7 | Carlos Sainz Jnr | Ferrari | 1’20.462 |
| 8 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1’20.510 |
| 9 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull-Honda | 1’20.611 |
| 10 | Antonio Giovinazzi | Alfa Romeo-Ferrari | 1’20.808 |
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2021 Italian Grand Prix
- Who was to blame for Hamilton and Verstappen’s collision at Monza?
- Hamilton-Verstappen crash was ‘a racing incident, no danger’ – Alonso
- Hamilton pleased stewards “set a precedent”, Verstappen “doesn’t fully agree”
- Ricciardo didn’t need title rivals’ latest clash for stunning Monza win
- Why Verstappen’s grid penalty differed from Hamilton’s Silverstone sanction
DarkSchneider
10th September 2021, 18:23
Bottas to Toto :
“Not bad for a wingman :p “
Pat
10th September 2021, 20:16
Toto to Bottas: Let Lewis pass
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
10th September 2021, 22:00
Bottas wins the sprint race: “james, it’s valtteri!”.
Schumi-alonso
11th September 2021, 5:16
We’re changing your engine to send you to the back. It’s all good for the “team”
falken (@falken)
10th September 2021, 18:29
So remind me, was this qualifying? Or is that tmrw? Does it matter?
Stupid system.
harsh vardhan harsh vardhan
11th September 2021, 2:46
Qualification for Qualification lol
Gav
10th September 2021, 18:32
Yep.
2.
Adam (@rocketpanda)
10th September 2021, 18:34
Perhaps it’s just that Red Bull have never done well at this track but they never looked like they had the pace of either Mercedes at any point. This looked like last year where there was no competition really except for that between the two Mercs, so I’d imagine this race is going to be unfortunate for the championship.
Also worrying for the rest of the season as if Mercedes carry this advantage for the rest of the year it’s game over for Verstappen & Red Bull.
Tom
10th September 2021, 18:37
How quickly you forget that just last week RedBull had a much bigger advantage than this. Max is still the huge favourite for this years championship. Relax.
Search
10th September 2021, 18:45
Also, I saw Max explain on TV that they were at the absolut limit of what they could take off the car in terms of downforce before the car would become more or less undriveable —which may, for this occasion, explain the big difference with Perez, with the latter having more difficulty in dealing with a less stable car. This embedded downforce plays into their hands on other circuits, but here it was a limiting factor in quali. The race will be a bit closer probably. So I guess it’s about damage control here and an open fight in further races. Can’t wait!
Alex
11th September 2021, 0:29
Thanks for this. I was wondering why Red bull didn’t just take off more downforce.
Prvn
11th September 2021, 5:45
Looking all cars.. the monza styled rear wings are already awkward..
Now it only option to remove it completely in monza :p
KevinY
10th September 2021, 23:55
A much bigger advantage? 0.05 is bigger than 0.4?
Fantomius (@liko41)
11th September 2021, 0:17
Actually, it wasn’t red bull having an advantage.
It was Verstappen.
It makes ALL the difference.
Rockgod (@rockgod)
10th September 2021, 19:54
Bad for Verstappen and not for championship. You seem to think both are same. Looks like the pendulum swung back to the Mercs this weekend and there’s no guarantee that it’ll stay with them for rest of the season. If anything, this is good for the championship.
Newfangled (@newfangled)
10th September 2021, 18:43
Opting for the blunt ‘yeah but this is actually qualifying, though.’ Bottas pole, sprint race is tomorrow. Sort it out before this becomes a very awkward era to look back on, FOM.
Jere (@jerejj)
10th September 2021, 18:51
Q1 was a mess. How can everyone be that lost? Good thing collisions didn’t happen.
SjaakFoo (@sjaakfoo)
10th September 2021, 19:57
20 cars, on a short lap, on a relatively narrow track, all needing a certain amount of spacing from the car in front of them due to dirty air. It’s really not that hard to see why “everyone can be that lost” and it’s not like we haven’t seen it for years. Maybe this is resolved next year with the new cars being able to be closer to the cars in front of them, but I’d imagine not.
Honestly, all F1 have had to do (for years now) is introduce a 1-lap-qualifying in reverse championship standing order like we had before in the early 00s, specifically for this track, Monaco, Baku, maybe Zandvoort. So everyone gets a fair shot without shenanigans.
erikje
10th September 2021, 23:17
5.7km is one of the longest tracks on the calendar..
Michael (@freelittlebirds)
10th September 2021, 19:07
Well done Valtteri! And people say you’re not allowed to race or are too slow…
Davethechicken
10th September 2021, 19:12
Meanwhile at Red Bull, Perez is made the sacrificial lamb yet again. Tow anyone?
Tifoso1989 (@tifoso1989)
10th September 2021, 19:17
He is just useless most of the time apart from being Hamilton’s wingman and destroying other people’s races. Today he just took the most meaningless pole of the season. He won’t be missed at the front of the grid.
Fantomius (@liko41)
11th September 2021, 0:19
@tifoso1989
Here we are.
Ferrari’s poisonous tifosis back h@ting again.
Omar R (@)
11th September 2021, 5:02
Yet if tomorrow Bottas opens the door for Lewis as soon as possible and blocks Verstappen, you will know @tifoso1989 would have been right all along.
Tifoso1989 (@tifoso1989)
11th September 2021, 11:43
@omarr-pepper
Great to have you back here ! It’s been a long time that I didn’t see you commenting. Hope you’re doing just fine.
Omar R (@)
11th September 2021, 15:00
@tifoso1989 thanks. Tbh as soon as they changed from F1F to Race fans, something changed. I feel it’s the way they edit the content, or the clicbkait, or the bias to avoid criticism to certain someone, that has put me off this page. I still visit it often though.
Dave
12th September 2021, 11:17
Here we are.
Take a chill pill.
petebaldwin (@)
10th September 2021, 19:23
Yeah – can’t wait to see him race Hamilton for the win on Sunday.
DaveW (@dmw)
10th September 2021, 19:14
Maybe RBR should hire Bottas.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
10th September 2021, 19:18
Yes, although on paper perez should’ve been at least bottas level, so maybe there’s something that is difficult about driving a red bull to the limit, if that’s the case you need a super talented and experienced driver like alonso, don’t know who else they can take to get 2 performing drivers.
Davethechicken
10th September 2021, 19:24
On paper Perez was no where near Bottas’s level given the formers decade of midfield mediocrity. Hardly a surprise when scrutiny is applied.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
10th September 2021, 22:03
Was bottas considered better? I seem to remember he couldn’t beat massa decisively, they both seemed good midfield drivers, but when given a top team, the difference seems big.
Davethechicken
11th September 2021, 7:18
We could measure it by the number of times sacked by an F1 team I suppose. Perez has been “let go” twice already. Bottas once by the end of this season!
Roger (@rogerzzz)
10th September 2021, 19:39
Stunning lap from Valtteri and edging out the great Hamilton is a superb way to answer his critics.
Red Bull has done an excellent job of damage limitation, but the fact that Verstappen got a double tow from the sister Red Bull as well as the Alpha Tauri, reeks. I understand why Red Bull did it; they were on the back foot all day and Gasly’s once again excellent performance gave them this opportunity. But: in no other sport two teams would be allowed to co-operate in this fashion.
I find it remarkable that there is no shortage of unfounded insinuations about the presumed might and influence of Mercedes, but the soft drinks company once again gets away with blatant inter-teamwork on track.
Grockle (@bennyh1)
10th September 2021, 19:45
Bottas had a new power unit which must be worth a few tenths around Monza.
Fantomius (@liko41)
11th September 2021, 0:15
@bennyh1
The great Sir Hamilton excuse book, which page?
Balue (@balue)
10th September 2021, 20:28
4 tenths to the nearest car is a lot. Verstappen lucky not to be swallowed by the McLarens, but likely will in qualifying.
ryanoceros (@ryanoceros)
10th September 2021, 21:29
Yeah I suspect at least Lando will get past max during the qualifying race non-race tmw
Jeffrey (@jeffreyj)
10th September 2021, 23:59
@ryanoceros @balue
Yeah, but shouldn’t Max receive a grid penalty for overtaking in pit exit/crossing the pit-exit line…?
More penalties for Leclerc, Norris, Vettel, and Stroll should be given as well I’m afraid.
Dex
10th September 2021, 20:38
Don’t worry, mister Wolff dealt with this “problem” promptly. He dared go for the fastest lap after unnecessary pit stop. That we could almost forgive him. But imagine, he dared to qualify, to do a fast lap in Q3? This time we swap the engine, if he behaves he won’t start the race on wet tires.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
10th September 2021, 22:03
Ahah, wet tyres even.
hamilz0rs
10th September 2021, 21:38
If only he had the balls to fight for the win now that he has been fired.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
10th September 2021, 22:04
Never say never, remember when a certain finnish driver was fired at monza in 2018, and then put in one of the best races of the season.
Fantomius (@liko41)
11th September 2021, 0:12
It’s starting to become quite embarrassing for Lewis.
Smashed by Verstappen on a weekly basis and now defeated by his newly fired teammate.
Russell next season.
His F1career is going to end BAD.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
11th September 2021, 2:26
Actually I don’t see how hamilton didn’t see it coming, so I’m surprised he renewed his contract, he doesn’t seem afraid to go against these new quick drivers.
Tommy C (@tommy-c)
11th September 2021, 5:02
Yeh he must be so embarrassed to be on the front row by less than a tenth of a second. It’s so bizarre that to acknowledge Lewis is a great driver holds him to the standard that he should be on pole at every round. I don’t think his career can end badly. He’ll retire with over 100 poles and wins and at least equal record of championships. Not much more he can achieve.
ryanoceros (@ryanoceros)
11th September 2021, 5:53
Bottas took pole at 5 races for each of the last two seasons and Hamilton won the championships. I don’t think starting behind his teammate for two races in 2021 signals the end of his career.
Swifty
11th September 2021, 7:30
I’d be embarrassed to be GOAT too. It must really suck.
anon
11th September 2021, 13:17
Why are you continually trying to provoke a fight by abusing other posters, from the abuse you’ve been throwing at Ferrari fans for simply supporting their team to this sort of obvious troll bait.
You’ve been going out and actively harassing fans of other teams for seemingly no reason other than trying to get them to retaliate against you – why are you engaging in this sort of toxic behaviour?
Dave
23rd September 2021, 21:51
He seriously can’t take a chill pill, and if he doesn’t take one, I won’t mind doing a diss track.
Dave
23rd September 2021, 21:52
Also to this day he still can’t take a chill pill over people mocking the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix name. “Pirelli Gran Premio d’Italia” is a much better Grand Prix name by 100%. Don’t change my mind and don’t make me kill him again.
Dave
23rd September 2021, 21:56
One last thing: It’s the same b—–d who said Grosjean won’t be missed because of that horrible crash – Glad Romain is alive. It’s the same unchill person who keeps attacking another site member constantly. It’s the same provoker who can’t take a chill pill. It’s the same w—-r who got infuriated over people mocking the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix name. Yeah, that’s my killshot.
Davey
23rd October 2021, 10:39
To this day, this so-called “killer” still is provocative. And I will never stop killing him. Verbally.
Dave
19th October 2021, 20:36
#YouShouldTakeAChillPillRightNow
Michael Barton
11th September 2021, 10:45
“Valtteri, you had one job to do – not to beat Lewis”
Courtesy of a certain TV commentator…
Dave
25th September 2021, 16:50
Wait, is that surname connected with the psychopath? Hmm…
Dave
11th September 2021, 11:07
So is the Sunday race grid set by qualifying results?
Dave
23rd September 2021, 21:57
Another kill out of 100+ kills confirmed in the books.