The man from Madrid has beaten Verstappen by only 13 thousandths and his teammate Leclerc by 67 at Ferrari’s
Fernando Alonso has failed in the last qualifying round, with soft, and has finished tenth
Carlos Sainz has achieved pole position for the Italian Grand Prix, which will be held tomorrow Sunday at the Monza Autodrome, the fastest track on the calendar. The Madrid driver, who was already the best in Friday practice and also dominated the third session this morning, confirmed his aspirations in front of the Italian fans and gave them their first pole position of the season with Ferrari.
after a In a very tight three-way fight, Sainz has barely surpassed World Championship leader Max Verstappen, second with Red Bull, by just 13 thousandths, while Charles Leclerc has placed his SF-23 third on the grid, 67 thousandths of a second away.
The two Scuderia drivers were awaiting a possible penalty on the grid for slowing down during Q1, but the stewards quickly cleared up the intrigue and announced that the investigation would have no consequences.
“Tell me we have it!!!cried Sainz on the radio watching the delirium of the tifosi in the stands of Monza. Less fortunate has been Fernando Alonso, who had to settle for tenth position departure this Sunday.
Q1: Ferrari, under investigation
Verstappen He started at the front in Q1, with hard tires for everyone, being the fastest from the start (1.12.573). The stewards have been quite severe with the track limits, canceling laps for several drivers, including Hamilton and Alonso.
albon He has been seen to ensure his pass to the next round with the Williams and with the second best time. Alonso has passed the sieve in tenth position and Sainz and Leclerc, also without problems making the cutbut the FIA has announced a investigation of the two Ferrari drivers for going too slow on the track to find space, which could cost them a penalty.
They have stayed fOut at the first exchange the two Alpine, Ocon and Gasly, the Chinese Zhou (Alfa Romeo), the Danish Magnussen (Haas) and Alonso’s partner, Lance Stroll, that in the morning he was unable to drive due to a breakdown in his Aston Martin and is having a difficult weekend in Italy.
Q2: Verstappen, in control
He experimental classification format that was tested in Hungary and has been replicated in Italy, much criticized by the pilots, he assigned medium rubber to the second phase of the classification, which began with a great time of Carlos Sainz (1.20.991), highly celebrated by the tifosi.
Verstappen was only 44 thousandths and leclercalmost 2 tenths of his partner, while alonso he was lapping at half a second, ahead of the two McLarens. Hamilton was in the danger zone after aborting his launched lap when he met Checo Pérez on the track.
alonso has had a slipstream of leclerc in his last fastest lap attempt, but he ended up aborting. Verstappen slowed down the Ferraris and regained control with a best time of 1.20.937with which he has left Leclerc at 40 thousandths of a second and Sainz at 54. Alonso, half a second behind, has reached Q3 for the fourteenth time this season, being the only one on the grid that has not failed in any classification.
Q3: Sainz’s first pole in 2023
The ultimate battle for pole position, with soft tire and two new games for all according to the regulations, it was clearly outlined as a fight between Red Bull and Ferrari, the fastest one lap at Monza. But there was room for surprise.
Red Bull has put into practice a slipstream rehearsed from Pérez to Verstappenbut the Dutchman, who had been thrown, went off the track, although he managed to save the lap with the third provisional time, while Sainz He signed the provisional pole (1.20.532) by 32 thousandths over Leclerc and made the stands of the Italian circuit roar again.
alonso He was very slow in his first attempt on soft rubber, reaching provisional tenth position with one last attack to go for the top ten. He has not improved and tomorrow he will start tenth.
Sainz has won the game Verstappen and leclerc in a very tight final, which has been decided by thousandths. The man from Madrid has signed pole (1.20.294), with a brutal third sector in which he has scratched 13 thousandths from the leader of Red Bull and 67 from his partner leclerc. The difference between this ‘diabolical’ trio and the fourth, Russellhas already been more than 3 tenths.