Let’s find out if Ferrari could take a famous Pole Position in front of the demandant Tifosi.
Q1
In Qualifying 1; Zhou Guanyu, Pierre Gasly, Esteban Ocon, Kevin Magnussen, and Lance Stroll were the five slowest drivers. Zhou Guanyu just didn’t quite have enough pace to make it into Q2 whilst Alpine had a horrible day as both Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon were knocked out early. Kevin Magnussen was once again slow (what’s new) whilst Lance Stroll had a terrible outing at a track he’s gone well at in the past. Max Verstappen topped Q1 by just under a tenth to Williams’ Alex Albon!
Q2
In Qualifying 2; Yuki Tsunoda, Liam Lawson, Nico Hulkenberg, Valtteri Bottas, and Logan Sargeant all failed to make it into the Top 10 shootout. Alpha Tauri can be really happy with their day as both Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson put in a good performance whilst Nico Hulkenberg did decently to qualify P13. Valtteri Bottas can be satisfied with P14 whilst Logan Sargeant underperformed in his Williams. Max Verstappen topped Q2 by just 4 hundredths (of a second) to Charles Leclerc.
Q3
In Qualifying 3; Carlos Sainz pulled out a brilliant 1:20.294 to take a famous Pole Position at Monza. Carlos has been driving well this season and it’s terrific to see him take a Pole for Ferrari in front of the Tifosi. Max Verstappen didn’t seem too bothered at being beaten to Pole by just 13 thousandths whilst Charles Leclerc wasn’t much further behind in his Ferrari. George Russell pulled out a really good lap to get his Mercedes into P4 whilst Sergio Perez will be disappointed with only Qualifying 5th. Alex Albon pulled out another epic performance to get his Williams onto the third row of the grid whilst Oscar Piastri can be happy with out-qualifying his teammate. Lewis Hamilton will be slightly disappointed with P8 and the same can be said for both Lando Norris and Fernando Alonso.
Starting Grid for the 2023 Italian Grand Prix and My Qualifying Grades
Carlos Sainz: 10
Max Verstappen: 9
Charles Leclerc: 8
George Russell: 8
Sergio Perez: 6
Alex Albon: 10
Oscar Piastri: 6
Lewis Hamilton: 5
Lando Norris: 4
Fernando Alonso: 5
Yuki Tsunoda: 7
Liam Lawson: 7
Nico Hulkenberg: 6
Valtteri Bottas: 5
Logan Sargeant: 3
Zhou Guanyu: 3
Pierre Gasly: 2
Esteban Ocon: 1
Kevin Magnussen: 1
Lance Stroll: 1
My Predictions for the 2023 Italian Grand Prix
Max Verstappen
Carlos Sainz
Sergio Perez
Charles Leclerc
George Russell