Lando Norris will start from pole position for the second consecutive Sunday after beating team mate Oscar Piastri to the fastest time in Monza.
Despite admitting he was disappointed with his final run in Q3, Norris still improved on his own provisional pole time to secure the top spot on the grid.
George Russell will start third on the grid for Mercedes, while championship leader Max Verstappen could only manage seventh.
Q1
The conditions could hardly have been more ideal for Franco Colapinto’s first F1 qualifying session, with clear skies and temperatures at 33C. Charles Leclerc was informed by race engineer Bryan Bozzi that the wind intensity around the circuit was “very low” as he left the pit lane for the start of qualifying.Leclerc and Ferrari team mate Carlos Sainz Jnr were the first of the big hitters to set out their stalls at the start of qualifying, with Leclerc immediately posting the quickest time of the weekend so far with a 1’20.074. A mistake through the second Lesmo rendered Sainz’s first attempt of the session a waste.
Max Verstappen was a tenth of a second slower than Leclerc with his first effort, while Lando Norris went quickest of all with his first lap, a tenth quicker than Leclerc. Oscar Piastri ruined his first lap when he locked up into the way into the Rettifilo chicane, but after abandoning his lap and pushing on the next, he went fourth with his first time of qualifying.
The two Mercedes could only manage fourth and fifth with their first attempts of Q1, with George Russell a tenth ahead of his team mate before complaining that he had been “sliding massively” on his lap. They were both demoted one place after Sainz posted his first representative time of the session.
With under five minutes remaining, debutant Colapinto was only two-thousandths of a second away from securing a place in Q2. However, his hopes of progressing ended when he ran wide and onto the gravel at the second Lesmo. That disrupted the lap of Kevin Magnussen, who was running immediately behind him, and had a scrappy end to his last push lap as a result, though he made it through along with his team mate.
Daniel Ricciardo was the last driver to claim a place in Q2, eliminating his team mate Yuki Tsunoda, who in turn had knocked Lance Stroll out moments earlier. Colapinto was 18th in his first qualifying session ahead of the two Saubers of Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu.
The stewards announced that Piastri will be investigated after qualifying for an incident in the pits. Verstappen had to take evasive action when McLaren release Piastri into his path.
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Q1 result
| P. | # | Driver | Team | Model | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren-Mercedes | MCL38 | 1’19.911 | |
| 2 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | SF-24 | 1’20.074 | 0.163 |
| 3 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren-Mercedes | MCL38 | 1’20.076 | 0.165 |
| 4 | 55 | Carlos Sainz Jnr | Ferrari | SF-24 | 1’20.149 | 0.238 |
| 5 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | W15 | 1’20.169 | 0.258 |
| 6 | 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull-Honda RBPT | RB20 | 1’20.226 | 0.315 |
| 7 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | W15 | 1’20.477 | 0.566 |
| 8 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Williams-Mercedes | FW46 | 1’20.542 | 0.631 |
| 9 | 11 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull-Honda RBPT | RB20 | 1’20.598 | 0.687 |
| 10 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin-Mercedes | AMR24 | 1’20.617 | 0.706 |
| 11 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine-Renault | A524 | 1’20.748 | 0.837 |
| 12 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine-Renault | A524 | 1’20.764 | 0.853 |
| 13 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Haas-Ferrari | VF-24 | 1’20.781 | 0.870 |
| 14 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas-Ferrari | VF-24 | 1’20.856 | 0.945 |
| 15 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | RB-Honda RBPT | 01 | 1’20.901 | 0.990 |
| 16 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | RB-Honda RBPT | 01 | 1’20.945 | 1.034 |
| 17 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin-Mercedes | AMR24 | 1’21.013 | 1.102 |
| 18 | 43 | Franco Colapinto | Williams-Mercedes | FW46 | 1’21.061 | 1.150 |
| 19 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Sauber-Ferrari | C44 | 1’21.101 | 1.190 |
| 20 | 24 | Zhou Guanyu | Sauber-Ferrari | C44 | 1’21.445 | 1.534 |
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Q2
Ferrari sent both their drivers out on well-used tyres at the start of Q2, with Leclerc once again getting the better lap between him and Sainz. But their times were comfortably beaten by the two McLarens of Norris and Piastri with their shiny new softs for their first runs.
Verstappen could not match the McLarens with his first time on new softs, but Hamilton leapt straight to the top to the timing screen with a 1’19.641 on fresh tyres, just under a tenth quicker than the McLarens. The two Ferraris returned to the track on new sets of their own, but while Sainz moved up to third, Leclerc could only manage seventh with his effort, complaining about his Ferrari “not turning at all”.
As the cars headed out for their final runs, Alexander Albon was sitting vulnerable in tenth place, while Fernando Alonso had to improve in 11th to reach Q3. Kevin Magnussen was also at risk of his qualifying session ending in 12th, as were the two Alpines of Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon with Ricciardo slowest in 15th.
Ricciardo improved by more than four tenths on his last lap but could not reach the top ten and was out. Alonso also improved but missed the cut by just one-hundredth of a second, though on his way in he remarked the car wasn’t capable of more. Magnussen failed to find time with his last run and was also out in 13th, while Ocon could not beat his team mate despite improving on his last lap, meaning he was eliminated slowest behind Gasly.
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Q2 result
| P. | # | Driver | Team | Model | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | W15 | 1’19.641 | |
| 2 | 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull-Honda RBPT | RB20 | 1’19.662 | 0.021 |
| 3 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren-Mercedes | MCL38 | 1’19.727 | 0.086 |
| 4 | 55 | Carlos Sainz Jnr | Ferrari | SF-24 | 1’19.799 | 0.158 |
| 5 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren-Mercedes | MCL38 | 1’19.808 | 0.167 |
| 6 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | W15 | 1’19.877 | 0.236 |
| 7 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | SF-24 | 1’20.007 | 0.366 |
| 8 | 11 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull-Honda RBPT | RB20 | 1’20.216 | 0.575 |
| 9 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Williams-Mercedes | FW46 | 1’20.314 | 0.673 |
| 10 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Haas-Ferrari | VF-24 | 1’20.411 | 0.770 |
| 11 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin-Mercedes | AMR24 | 1’20.421 | 0.780 |
| 12 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | RB-Honda RBPT | 01 | 1’20.479 | 0.838 |
| 13 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas-Ferrari | VF-24 | 1’20.698 | 1.057 |
| 14 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine-Renault | A524 | 1’20.738 | 1.097 |
| 15 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine-Renault | A524 | 1’20.766 | 1.125 |
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Q3
For the second time in qualifying, Verstappen swerved out of the way of a rival in the pit lane as he headed out for the first time in the final shoot-out. This time it was Sainz who he avoided, but the stewards deemed it to be not worthy of investigation.The first efforts of the session saw McLaren in the strongest position of all, with Norris posting the provisional pole time of a 1’19.401, Piastri less than half a tenth behind. They were followed by the two Mercedes of Russell and Hamilton a tenth behind, with the two Ferraris of Sainz and Leclerc another tenth slower.
Despite having a fresh set of softs for his first run, Verstappen was slower with his first attempt than Perez on used tyres. He made his frustrations with the lack of grip offered by his new set of softs clear to his team over the radio.
Red Bull were the first to send their cars back out on track for the final run. Verstappen improved with his attempt to get ahead of his team mate, but was only good enough to move up to seventh.
Norris improved his own provisional pole time to a 1’19.327, but his team mate could not find any time. Despite admitting to his race engineer that he had put in a “shit” final lap, it ultimately proved to be good enough to secure his second consecutive pole position and fourth of the year as Piastri failed to improve with his last lap.
Russell held onto third as the two Ferraris improved on their last runs, but Leclerc was not pleased to take fourth on the grid ahead of his team mate Sainz. Hamilton was demoted from fourth to sixth in the final run and will start ahead of the two Red Bulls of Verstappen and Perez, whose final lap was ruined by an error at the second Lesmo. Albon equalled Williams’ best grid position of the season in ninth, with Hulkenberg rounding out the top ten.
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Q3 result
| P. | # | Driver | Team | Model | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren-Mercedes | MCL38 | 1’19.327 | |
| 2 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren-Mercedes | MCL38 | 1’19.436 | 0.109 |
| 3 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | W15 | 1’19.440 | 0.113 |
| 4 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | SF-24 | 1’19.461 | 0.134 |
| 5 | 55 | Carlos Sainz Jnr | Ferrari | SF-24 | 1’19.467 | 0.140 |
| 6 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | W15 | 1’19.513 | 0.186 |
| 7 | 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull-Honda RBPT | RB20 | 1’20.022 | 0.695 |
| 8 | 11 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull-Honda RBPT | RB20 | 1’20.062 | 0.735 |
| 9 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Williams-Mercedes | FW46 | 1’20.299 | 0.972 |
| 10 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Haas-Ferrari | VF-24 | 1’20.339 | 1.012 |
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2024 Italian Grand Prix
- “Never had so much pain in a car”: How Colapinto impressed Williams on his debut
- F1’s most competitive season for 47 years? Four teams now have three wins each
- “Can I have my PU performance back?” – Verstappen’s “tough” Monza race on his radio
- FIA not changing front wing rules after Red Bull’s comments on rivals
- Norris “would love” number one status but won’t “beg someone to let me pass”
Riccard
31st August 2024, 16:20
Top six within 0.2 seconds… what a time to be an F1 fan.
McLaren will love their chances: the best way to keep 1st at the start is to lock the front row down.
Constructors’ lead up for grabs tomorrow if they keep it.
Nick T.
31st August 2024, 16:26
Perez knows his assignment: “brake failure”’into T1 and wipe out the front 4.
I’m kidding BTW (needs to be said based on many of the conspiracies I hear voiced on here – the most recent one being that Bern Maylander has kept his SC seat due to having dirt on key people in F1).
notagrumpyfan
31st August 2024, 16:29
They will do their strategy discussion with him at the local bowling alley.
tielemst
31st August 2024, 16:44
Hé won’t get there in time, will he?
Adrian Hancox (@ahxshades)
31st August 2024, 18:39
If he doesn’t bother braking maybe?
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
31st August 2024, 18:23
That’s basically bottas’ strategy in hungary 2021!
Doh
31st August 2024, 21:43
Yes it was clear as day the he did that purposefully, he is smart he was able to know when and with how much speed to hit the car ahead to cause a chain reaction so precise that it would also get max who was a few cars ahead.
MadMax (@madmax)
1st September 2024, 0:26
makes no sense to argue with those merc hate fans. they only spread their stupid bias, ignorant of facts
Red Andy (@red-andy)
31st August 2024, 19:07
Bottas: Hold my underpants.
David BR (@david-br)
31st August 2024, 22:18
@red-andy Yeww. Pre or post-race underpants?
Jockey Ewing
31st August 2024, 23:25
We know since winter, Bottas does not need underpants to look good.
notagrumpyfan
31st August 2024, 16:27
If they play it smart (defend Norris pole position and not fighting each other) then it can make a big impact on the Drivers Championship as well.
Nick T.
31st August 2024, 16:26
Checo did a brilliant job of ruining a lap that would have probably put him in 5th. But RBR should have seen the tow wasn’t worth enough to risk that.
Jere (@jerejj)
31st August 2024, 17:00
Checo made a pure driver error without which the tow on the back straight wouldn’t have happened, so zero tactics.
David
31st August 2024, 18:37
Yes I can’t imagine Max will agree to a tow from Checo again.
Tunde
1st September 2024, 10:02
Perez has been towing Max if the chance is available. It just wasn’t good today and that should not dismiss other previous tows Perez has given or will give in future
Nulla Pax (@nullapax)
31st August 2024, 16:27
I am not a fan of any one driver or team, so you can imagine how much I am loving this.
The team that were 100% dominant (and were even tipped to possibly win every single race at the start of this season) are now just the leaders for the midfield whilst the others are dicing for positions up front.
Yes … I’m loving it.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
31st August 2024, 18:24
Yes, it’s very interesting from a WDC standpoint, verstappen should be able to recover a bit if the car has pace in the race, but it gives an opportunity to recover for norris, assuming his start isn’t too horrible!
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
31st August 2024, 18:25
as in recover in the championship for norris*
As things are, the constructor’s championship is done, with mclaren winning another 26 years after previous one, which is an impressive gap!
Edvaldo
31st August 2024, 16:28
Turn 1 in Monza in the middle of the pack is the most dangerous place to be.
Max better be extremely cautious to avoid a lap 1 retirement because Norris isn’t losing this one as Monza is as straightforward as it can get.
David BR (@david-br)
31st August 2024, 16:34
Not so sure about Norris, a poor start and he could be in P5 or worse very quickly. Possibly the biggest pressure test of his career so far.
Asanator
1st September 2024, 12:33
He and Lewis side by side again into Retifilio? ;)
David BR (@david-br)
31st August 2024, 16:37
Not sure I’ve seen Verstappen drive so tentatively, that was weird. Looks like he’s lost any confidence in the car.
Nick T.
31st August 2024, 16:43
He was fine S1, I think his tentativeness came when he started getting too close to Perez. If it came before, then yeah, it was bizarre.
David BR (@david-br)
31st August 2024, 16:54
Could well be, Perez kicking up dust probably didn’t help. What was puzzling was how the gap between the Red Bull drivers suddenly shrank to nothing.
Sham (@sham)
31st August 2024, 22:05
The Red Bull drivers being so close is the curious thing – Perez qualifying slightly ahead of where he was before the summer break and racing better as well, while Max has plainly lost confidence in the car. Even if the car wasn’t as fast as the Merc/Ferrari/McLaren you would expect him to be able to drive as he was before and for the gap to Perez to be the same, and yet he is very unhappy while Perez is improved. Something very odd is going on, and I don’t understand all the talk about the floor – it doesn’t seem to fit what’s happening to me.
I’m not going to repeat some of the theory’s I’ve seen about the rule clarifications, but something is really weird here.
David BR (@david-br)
31st August 2024, 22:24
@sham One explanation would be that the car is now less oversteery/more understeery, so tending more towards Perez’s racing style. Seems to be the gist of Verstappen’s recent complaints.
SteveP
1st September 2024, 7:48
It’s the cause of that steering change that people are struggling to understand. A change made that they seemingly can’t undo.
So far, the only theory that would match is one that we are avoiding stating.
Nick T.
31st August 2024, 16:42
The flat curbs have allowed a lot of new lines. It’s exactly the type of change that a driver like Alonso could make so much hay from if his car wasn’t garbage (it’s also one of the reasons why he was the better part of a second ahead of Stroll). It’s also why I think you saw so many moments. You could try different things, especially in Parabolica and everyone was varying their lines. Had Max just dialed back his first Q3 run by 1%, he would be around P3 or, at worst P5, which would make his life a lot easier tomorrow. But I like it. I want to see how he’ll respond to not having a car that should be on the front two rows for a few races in a row. My guess is that he’ll begin going ballistic if things don’t work out. Anger always makes him either deliver amazing drives or just totally over do it. After a while I think he will settle down and accept it, but we’re going to hear a lot of obnoxious radio comments in the short term.
Nulla Pax (@nullapax)
31st August 2024, 17:02
I’m sure we all agree that Max has matured greatly this last few seasons.
Yet, as you say, I will not be at all surprised if we witness a tantrum or two if thing’s go on like this.
He needs to accept that the car isn’t what it was and just push push push for every point he can get … even if it’s for tenth. And grab those FLAPS as well.
This could turn out to be his finest hour if he can keep his head.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
31st August 2024, 18:28
This reminds of 2009, I was in a break from f1 at that time, but same general situation: brawn gp dominating early on, button accumulating points, then getting overhauled by others with red bull becoming the best car and recovering, with button having to defend the lead by minimising the damage.
Edvaldo
31st August 2024, 18:44
Yeah, but Red Bull was not head and shoulders above the rest like McLaren is now.
Even Brawn themselves came back in contention when they removed their updates and Barrichello won 2 races with Button following him home in Monza.
He also benefitted from that season being the shortest non-pandemic season in 20 years.
I was expecting Max to have it easy, bringing home the big points to survive until the end but this very poor qualy from today was not on the plans. This might be the most important race of the season for Red Bull as they’re expected to be off the pace in Singapore too, so any double-digit points finish would be welcome.
Nick T.
31st August 2024, 18:55
Yup. It could be the setup for an F1 classic. I’d’ say, based on his car, a podium would be a 9/10 drive for him. A second place or a win in a race without crashes or SCs, would require a 10/10.
baasbas
31st August 2024, 16:54
Best result for the fans. Many wrote off this season beforehand (guilty) but this could still turn out to be great.
But Perez.. ooof. Not being there helping out or at least being useful was already expected, but to now being in the way? Wow
MadMax (@madmax)
1st September 2024, 0:33
Perez gave him a tow til the last corner. The dust should not have harmed Max lap. And he went completely off the racing line to let him past. Max just didnt deliver, neither in his first outing nor in the second.
MadMax (@madmax)
31st August 2024, 16:56
I guess due to the tow the result qualifies as ‘Perez outqualified himself’. Lol
Jere (@jerejj)
31st August 2024, 17:00
Getting eliminated in Q1 on the first-ever qualifying drive isn’t embarrassing at all & rather expectable, given Colapinto’s limited preparation time & driving opportunities.
McLaren is in a great starting position for the race, especially with Max starting a few positions back, & thus nailing the start phase is even more crucial this time around, especially for constructors’ championship chance.
Red Bull Racing’s general lack of pace this weekend went even against Max, especially as he qualified more than half a second slower than P6.
Alesici
31st August 2024, 17:07
Blatant cheating and bad acting by Magnussen at the end of Q1. He ran very wide at Ascari, ruining his final lap, then at the next corner did a pathetic attempt to pretent to lose it through Parabolica and then loitered in the run off until a good chunk of the field had gone past, delayed by his yellow flag. This included Stroll and others who would probably have bumped him out of Q1. I can take his cheeky gamesmanship helping Hulk earlier in the season, but not this.
Yesterday I was disapppointed once again by nobody noticing another driver hitting his head on the halo (Antonelli), and now I’m disappointed by nobody noticing some dangerous cheating by Kmag. The world is blind. But of course, unlike Indycar, F1 has no rules discouraging behaviour like this. He should be thrown out of the race just like Schumacher should have been after his pathetic acting in Monaco qualifying.
Alesici
31st August 2024, 17:10
For my findings on Antonelli’s helmet striking the halo, see my previous comments here.
anon
31st August 2024, 18:13
Are you really sure you’re not mistaking what you’re seeing for something else? You claim that you have seen evidence of other drivers striking their heads on the halo, but none of the drivers involved have reported hitting their head on the halo, there are no other third party reports of them hitting their head on the halo and none of the medical inspections seem to have reported any signs of the drivers hitting their head against the halo either.
Furthermore, when you look at the technical requirements and the minimum extent of the zones of impact absorbing material that have to be placed around the drivers head, the interior radius of the halo is designed to be greater than the maximum distance which the driver’s head could move from their base position within the car. The helmet may get close to the halo, but it shouldn’t actually be possible for the driver’s head to move far enough for their helmet to strike the halo.
David BR (@david-br)
31st August 2024, 17:14
I suppose he does manage to be creatively bad at least.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
31st August 2024, 18:30
I was very suspicious as well about the parabolica driving by magnussen.
Nick T.
31st August 2024, 18:59
It was pretty clear, but it didn’t look like it really impacted anyone with an actual shot of improving. So, I got over it quickly. Lance was putting in very uncompetitive times all weekend long.
Leo B
31st August 2024, 17:17
Norris’s p1 is considerably slower than Kimi’s pole 6 years ago.
Dominique (@tryneplague)
31st August 2024, 19:31
1:19.119 Kimi in 2018. Just 2 tenths.
But 1:18.887 in 2020 by HAM.
MichaelN
31st August 2024, 17:29
Uhm, what is going on at Red Bull? Seriously. How does a team go from dominating for near enough two and a half seasons and then just drop back considerably all of a sudden in the middle of a season. Very odd.
If Ferrari can replicate some of that Zandvoort race pace, a podium for Leclerc is certainly possible. Good!
Leo B
31st August 2024, 17:49
Something happened around the time of Jos Ver and Marko’s rebellion against Horner that upset the inner workings of the team. Something very stupid obviously.
notagrumpyfan
31st August 2024, 17:59
The RBR is not slow at all. Just Verstappen didn’t drive well on both Q3 attempts, and Perez cannot extract the most out of the car on any weekend this year.
Edvaldo
31st August 2024, 18:04
They fumbled Q3 completely though, much slower than his Q2 lap. A slight improvement from that lap and he could go up to even P2, as the pack is tight.
But Norris, he was not catching today.
Nick T.
31st August 2024, 19:16
As others have pointed out, Max could have been P2 or P3 without a fumble at parabolica. Then add these factors as for the overall picture:
-McLaren has been steadily gaining on the RBR since last season
-Had Norris not been so inconsistent this year, Max wouldn’t have been losing far earlier in the season
-Above all, they lost the greatest designer and F1 impact maker in F1 history whose absence you don’t just see in the crappy updates, but as I’ve said many times, you immediately saw a performance drop off when he stopped helping the team with suspension setup. A suspension he designed. And the suspension impacts every last bit of the car, not just mechanical grip. It is key to optimizing the car, especially aero balance in terms of downforce and drag. Maybe had they not gone through that PR campaign of pretending Newey hadn’t been important in the design of its dominant 2023 and early 2024 car, he’d have kept helping. But they literally incentivized him not to help in any way.
And, to think, he probably wouldn’t even be leaving the team if not for the Jos/Marko power play. Max could be still cruising to easy victories. It’s also exposed the fact that while Max may end up being the GOAT, he’s not tenths faster than other GOAT candidates like many were beginning to actually believe.
Chert
31st August 2024, 17:29
Ideal situation for Norris and McLaren. Norris has his team mate, 2 Mercs and 2 Ferraris between him and Verstappen. Norris has the potential of outscoring Verstappen by 20 points this weekend and cutting down the WDC lead from 70 to 50 points in just one race. That’s why it’s important for McLaren to prioritize Norris over Piastri to maximize their result both for the Driver’s and Constructor’s Championship. A Norris-Piastri 1-2 will probably give McLaren the lead in the WCC after this race.
Pinak Ghosh (@pinakghosh)
31st August 2024, 17:42
What a dramatic drop in form for Red Bull after summer break. It seems that something has happened at the front end of the car. Such drastic mid season drop reminds of Ferrari 2019 season.
Mclaren in contast has been able to develop a more allround package making it comepetitive across different track charecteristics. It will be an interesting championship this year, which is different from the expectations at the beginning of the season.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
31st August 2024, 18:32
Mmm, if anything ferrari won all their 3 races mid season in 2019! I’m aware they should’ve won earlier, as early as bahrain, and then in canada performance wise, if not more races, but they were still pretty competitive compared to their season average.
If there’s a season ferrari lost competitiveness around mid season and was no longer a title contender, it’s more 2017, or even 2022, they got outdeveloped by merc and red bull respectively.
Pete
31st August 2024, 19:55
The guy who understand how the car works is leaving. They dropped off almost immediately after Newey said goodbye and it’s only getting worse and worse because they don’t know what develop anymore.
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
31st August 2024, 18:13
McLaren needs to be careful with what they do moving forward, specially when it comes to risk free stuff, like releasing their drivers into the path of others, or blocking someone. Losing Piastri in 2nd because of that pit release would suck badly given the role he could play tomorrow to protect Lando if he needed it.
t1redmonkey (@t1redmonkey)
31st August 2024, 19:02
They don’t get grid drops because of unsafe pit releases anymore, they changed it so that it’s just a fine for the team now instead (also McLaren have indeed been fined for the unsafe Piastri release today).
Nick T.
31st August 2024, 19:22
BTW, you won’t hear anyone who rails against the absurd level of coddling / safety overkill we see today in F1 more than me, but I’m shocked unsafe releases are no longer eligible to be penalized by grid drops since, while there is zero danger for the driver, it is an area that could actually see a mechanic or team member injured or worse. And that would be even more unacceptable since they don’t sign up for that, unlike the drivers.
Nick T.
31st August 2024, 19:19
Wow, they’re super lucky about that rule change. I was 100% sure Piastri was getting a grid drop. That was super amateur from McLaren. They definitely need a new head of performance or whoever is in charge of that area for McLaren.
Steve (@scbriml)
31st August 2024, 22:23
Or was it super professional from McLaren? ;-)
Nick T.
1st September 2024, 5:13
Super professional!
Pete
31st August 2024, 19:53
With Verstappen struggling this weekend, it’ll be essential for McLaren to order Piastri to let Lando back past when he loses the lead at the start.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
31st August 2024, 21:33
Ahah, I see I’m not the only one with 0 trust in norris’ starts!
SteveP
1st September 2024, 7:54
Go for the people who do trust his starts, the number is way lower.
Doh
31st August 2024, 21:46
Did anyone else think that Haas causing a yellow at the end of q1 seems a bit suspicious? TBF i only got to see one angle of it which was the live one but it really looked like he just drove wide and pretended to get stuck in the gravel. Either way the benefited greatly they were 2 and 3 positions away from getting knocked out
David BR (@david-br)
31st August 2024, 22:27
Ehm yes. I thought he was going to park up and get out a deck chair, Alonso-in-Brazil-style.
DaveW (@dmw)
31st August 2024, 22:59
Imagine being in the same tenth as p2 and being p7. It’s like the Olympics 100m final. Run the race of your life and think you won and not even top 3.