Charles Leclerc of Ferrari won pole position for the Italian Grand Prix on Saturday at Monza after posting the fastest qualifying times.
Leclerc finished 0.145 seconds ahead of championship leader Max Verstappen after recording the fastest lap around the Temple of Speed on his penultimate attempt to earn his seventh pole position of the season.
“Really pleased with the lap, very pleased with the performance, a fantastic weekend… I sincerely hope we can finish like we did in 2019 “Leclerc, who triumphed here three years ago, commented.
The man from Monaco is in excellent position to claim his first win since early July in Austria.
This weekend was the famed Italian manufacturer’s 75th anniversary, which was commemorated by a yellow accent on the team’s livery.
Verstappen was penalized five grid positions for Sunday’s race for exceeding his engine allocation.
The Red Bull driver is seeking his maiden victory at Monza while attempting to increase his 109-point advantage over Leclerc and colleague Sergio Perez in the drivers’ standings.
Verstappen, who starts seventh, remarked that he expects tomorrow’s race to be “intriguing.”
Leclerc will win that Verstappen won the Belgian Grand Prix in August after advancing from 14th position at Spa-Francorchamps.
George Russell, who produced the sixth-fastest qualifying time for Mercedes, will start alongside Leclerc on the first row because Carlos Sainz, Perez, and Lewis Hamilton received additional grid penalties.
A total of nine drivers have been sent to the back of the grid, with Sainz, Hamilton, and Yuki Tsunoda beginning at the bottom.
Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo, who won last year’s Monza race, are the only drivers from McLaren in the second row following the slew of sanctions.
Pierre Gasly’s AlphaTauri and Fernando Alonso’s Alpine comprise the third row, with Max Verstappen and Nyck de Vries occupying the fourth row.
De Vries was thrust into the F1 deep end when he was forced to replace Alex Albon at the last minute.
Albon, a 26-year-old driver for Williams, was forced to exit the Grand Prix on Saturday due to appendicitis.
AFP
Share on Facebook «||» Share on Twitter «||» Share on Reddit «||» Share on LinkedIn