Leclerc takes pole at Monza, Hamilton settles for 2nd
Riding high after Ferrari's first win of the 2019 season last weekend, Charles Leclerc claimed the pole for the Italian Grand Prix on Saturday.
It's the 21st pole Ferrari has recorded at Monza - the most of any constructor. Championship leader Lewis Hamilton, meanwhile, recorded the second-fastest time in qualifying at Monza in the Mercedes.
Alfa Romeo's Kimi Raikkonen - who clinched the pole with Ferrari last year - crashed during Q3, causing a session stoppage at about the halfway mark.
Once racing resumed, the drivers opted to stay in the paddock as long as possible, leading to a standoff to see which team would restart Q3 first and create a slipstream.
The standoff ate up approximately three of the 10 minutes allotted in the final qualifying round, and only Carlos Sainz was able to record a new lap time during an ultimately meaningless final trip around the circuit.
Despite a strong showing at practice, Max Verstappen didn't hit the track for qualifying due to a penalty that will send him to the back of the grid regardless.
Pos. | Driver | Team | Time |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:19.307 |
2 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | +0.039 |
3 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | +0.047 |
4 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | +0.150 |
5 | Daniel Ricciardo | Renault | +0.532 |
6 | Nico Hulkenberg | Renault | +0.742 |
7 | Carlos Sainz | McLaren | +1.148 |
8 | Alexander Albon | Red Bull | NO TIME |
9 | Lance Stroll | Racing Point | NO TIME |
10 | Kimi Raikkonen | Alfa Romeo | NO TIME |
11 | Antonio Giovinazzi | Alfa Romeo | Q2 |
12 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas | Q2 |
13 | Daniil Kvyat | Toro Rosso | Q2 |
14 | Lando Norris | McLaren | Q2 |
15 | Pierre Gasly | Toro Rosso | Q2 |
16 | Romain Grosjean | Haas | Q1 |
17 | Sergio Perez | Racing Point | Q1 |
18 | George Russell | Williams | Q1 |
19 | Robert Kubica | Williams | Q1 |
20 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | Q1 |