Championship leader Sebastian Vettel took his twenty-fifth career pole position with a sensational lap around the legendary Monza track.
His margin over rival Lewis Hamilton was an impressive 0.4 seconds and by taking the top spot, it underlines the speed of the Renault-powered RB7 and maintains the team’s perfect record in qualifying this season.
The McLarens will start the Italian Grand Prix in second and third, with Hamilton edging out team-mate Jenson Button by 0.052 seconds.
Racing in front of the passionate tifosi, Fernando Alonso took fourth for Ferrari ahead of Mark Webber’s Red Bull and team-mate Felipe Massa.
The Renaults and Mercedes completed the top ten, with Vitaly Petrov in seventh, Michael Schumacher out-qualifying Nico Rosberg to eighth, with Bruno Senna completing the Q3 field without setting a lap time.
Senna’s last-gasp Q2 effort knocked Force India’s Paul di Resta out by just a tiny margin of 0.006 seconds. He will share the sixth row with his team-mate Adrian Sutil.
The Williams pair takes up row seven, while the Saubers struggled in qualifying after a promising practice session and will sandwich Toro Rosso’s Sebastien Buemi in P15 and P17. Buemi’s team-mate Jaime Alguersuari was again the unfortunate midfielder knocked out in Q1 and will start the race in P18.
Jarno Trulli led the tail-end group for Team Lotus out-qualifying team-mate Heikki Kovalainen. Timo Glock got close to Kovalainen’s pace despite concerns that his Virgin Racing’s Drag Reduction System was sticking open.
As for the back row of the grid, Daniel Ricciardo will start ahead of his veteran HRT team-mate Tonio Liuzzi for the first time in only his fifth appearance in Formula One.
Qualifying positions for the Italian Grand Prix, Monza:
1. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m22.275s
2. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m22.725s
3. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m22.777s
4. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m22.841s
5. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m22.972s
6. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m23.188s
7. Vitaly Petrov Renault 1m23.530s
8. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m23.777s
9. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m24.477s
10. Bruno Senna Renault No time
11. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m24.163s
12. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1m24.209s
13. Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1m24.648s
14. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Cosworth 1m24.726s
15. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1m24.845s
16. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m24.932s
17. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m25.065s
18. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m25.334s
19. Jarno Trulli Lotus-Renault 1m26.647s
20. Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Renault 1m27.184s
21. Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1m27.591s
22. Jerome D’Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth 1m27.609s
23. Daniel Ricciardo HRT-Cosworth 1m28.054s
24. Tonio Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth 1m28.231s
107 per cent time: 1m29.854s
Red Bull Racing’s Sebastian Vettel has said he was surprised to take his tenth pole position of the season with a clear margin over his rivals during the qualifying at Monza. Autosport.com has the story.
Sebastian Vettel admitted he was surprised by his advantage in qualifying at Monza, the Red Bull driver conceding he never expected to grab pole by such a margin.
The championship leader, whose Red Bull team has never been too strong at Monza, secured his 10th pole position of the year to keep the squad’s perfect record of top spots this season.
Vettel finished nearly half a second ahead of McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton, second today, and admitted he never expected to be so far ahead.
“We thought it would be much closer than that,” admitted Vettel. “I had a bit of an improvement in the first run for my second lap. We weren’t sure whether the tyres worked best in the first or second lap, but I did a bit of a mistake but we stayed out and focused on the last run only.
“I know we had a bit more time in the car, I had one or two cars down the road, which always helps at Monza but surely we would not think of going for pole by that big margin today on a track that did not suit us.
“This year the car is very good here, the balance is perfect even though for most of the people we don’t carry much wing around, so it is very slippery. We are quick in all three sectors, so I am happy today. We think we have quite a racy approach so very pleased.”
The German said he was not concerned about trying to keep a perfect pole position record all year, but rather about securing points on Sunday.
“I don’t know. We had a similar question going into this weekend or last race, I don’t know. I don’t care as well, I think we have to go step by step. This weekend we know it is not easy for us, but so far it has been excellent, the main task is coming tomorrow.
“So far we haven’t scored a single point but we have put ourselves in the strongest position. After tomorrow’s race we focus on the next one, then we focus on the next one. If we have 100 per cent going into last race then we still have the chance to keep that up, but that is not our target, our target is to maximise the points tomorrow.”
Vettel is confident he will be able to stay ahead of his McLaren rivals in the race, despite the strong pace shown by the team over long runs.
“I think we have a fair chance. Yesterday I was happy with the car, today is more about qualifying preparations and long runs. I felt very competitive, very good, the balance was right.”
McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton has commented that Sebastian Vettel’s pole time was unbeatable following qualifying at Monza. Autosport.com has the details.
Lewis Hamilton does not think he could have beaten Sebastian Vettel to Italian Grand Prix pole even if his final qualifying lap at Monza had been perfect.
Vettel claimed his 10th pole position of the year with a half-second cushion despite Monza having been a weak track for Red Bull in recent years.
Although Hamilton made some errors on his final pole shot, he described Vettel’s time as ‘untouchable’.
“I didn’t have another half a second in the bag,” said Hamilton. “We had a couple of tenths up on the car. The guys did a fantastic job to bring new components to the circuit, and we were very competitive.
“Seb was quicker today. We looked like we would be quite competitive through the weekend but today on the last lap he was untouchable.”
Hamilton had been fastest in Q1 and both McLarens had been within a couple of tenths of Vettel in Q2, so the Briton admitted he was surprised by how much performance the championship leader was able to unleash in the final segment.
“In Q1 and Q2 it was relatively close and they pull out half a second [in Q3],” said Hamilton.
Despite his disappointment at Vettel’s qualifying superiority, Hamilton added that he was pleased to at least be in contention at the front of the field as he tries to make up for his Spa crash, and that he was confident in McLaren’s race pace.
“It is a long race tomorrow. The target is to finish. In the race I think we will be able to finish up quite high,” he said.
“I am pretty happy to be back up there getting another opportunity to have another good race tomorrow and hopefully things turn out better than the last race.”
McLaren’s Jenson Button was mystified by the time gap over pole sitter Sebastian Vettel following qualifying at Monza. Autosport.com has the story.
Jenson Button conceded it was hard to understand why Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel was so quick in qualifying for the Italian Grand Prix.
The German driver grabbed a dominant pole position, beating the McLarens by around half a second despite the Monza circuit not expected to suit the Red Bull.
Button, third today behind team-mate Lewis Hamilton, admitted he was mystified by the speed of the Red Bull.
“I agree with Lewis that even if we got a bit more, we couldn’t have challenged Seb,” said Button.
“The strange thing is these guys don’t look like they are carrying much wing and they are quite a bit quicker than us in last sector with high-speed corners, so it’s difficult to understand.
“We have to concentrate on the race and score some good points. It’s not so important to be on pole position as in previous years.”
Button is confident, however, that McLaren will be able to challenge Vettel in tomorrow’s race, and he is predicting a fun event.
“Seb says they are racy for tomorrow. I know what he means and I think we have also gone the same direction so I think it is going to be a fun race.
“Their lap times yesterday were very good on the long run, or whatever fuel loads they were running. I think we are going to have a lot of fun tomorrow, I don’t think Red Bull will have it all their way. It should be a fun race.”
Michael Schumacher is hopeful he will enjoy a stronger Italian Grand Prix on Sunday after qualifying on the fourth row of the grid.
The Mercedes driver will start from eighth position and, having saved a set of soft tyres for the race, he is optimistic he will be able to enjoy a strong event.
Schumacher admitted he could not have extracted much more from the car today, although he conceded his flying lap in Q3 was not ideal.
“Qualifying today went mostly according to plan,” said Schumacher.
“I don’t think we could have taken much more; maybe I could have ended up one place higher. I didn’t have an ideal fast lap as I tried to use the slip stream from Lewis but then he locked up in the second chicane which made me lock up too.
“However I will be on soft tyres tomorrow which should be better for my race. As our race pace looked quite good yesterday, I was more focusing on the race and trying to use the tyres in the right way. For tomorrow, I will try to get a good start and take it from there.”
Team-mate Nico Rosberg, who also completed just one run in Q3, was happy to have saved tyres for the race too, having qualified in ninth position.
“I’m happy with today’s qualifying and the compromise that we made to be strong in the race tomorrow,” he said . “The performance in Q2 shows that the car is working well here, and we saved two sets of options which is good.
“I’m the only driver who took part in Q3 who will be starting on the hard tyre, so it will be interesting and should help me a lot at the start of the race. I think it will be a really good race tomorrow.”
Source: Autosport.com
Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso has commented that his main target in the Italian Grand Prix is a place on the podium following qualifying. Autosport.com has the story.
Fernando Alonso is confident he will be in the fight for a place on the podium at Monza after a stronger-than-expected showing in qualifying.
The Ferrari driver will start the race from fourth position, a result he admitted was better than he had hoped for after struggling for pace ahead of qualifying.
“I’m happy with the result as it gives us a good chance for the race, to fight for the podium, to be in the fight at the first corner if we get a good start,” said Alonso. “The weekend has been complicated, and we have never been fast enough.
“We have changed a lot of things in the car and so it’s been a weekend with a lot of work. And in the end, finding ourselves on the second row is the best news of all.”
The Spaniard is also hopeful Ferrari will be stronger in race trim than in qualifying, but he admitted it is unlikely he will have the pace to fight for victory.
“We will see. Obviously there is this question mark for tomorrow regarding the degradation and tyres, the pace in the race, which normally it was in our favour and we are usually better on Sunday, so we will see tomorrow if we can repeat this thing.
“I am confident that we can have a good pace in the race even if the weekend so far we were not extremely competitive. We struggled yesterday and we struggled this morning and in qualifying.
“The best thing is the result, and fourth gives you the possibility of fighting for the podium, fighting at the first corner etc.., but being realistic we do not have the pace so far.”
He added: “I think we will see tomorrow. It is true that here you can set the car a little bit for qualifying or you can set it for the race. You can put more or less downforce regarding what you think for the race is best, and in qualifying because you open the wing on every straight it is not a problem.
“In the race, when you cannot open that wing on the straight, it is necessary to have the right downforce on the car. We see tomorrow. Sebastian did well today with a big margin for pole position, so tomorrow basically at the start we need to stop him.”
Red Bull Racing’s Mark Webber blamed himself to only qualify in fifth position. Autosport.com has the details.
Mark Webber said he and his Red Bull crew must share the blame for his disappointing fifth place on the Italian Grand Prix grid.
The Australian had KERS issues at the start of the session, and felt going for just one run in Q3 had been the wrong choice.
“It wasn’t the smoothest session at all,” Webber admitted.
“We were late out managing some KERS stuff. The guys got that in eventually and it didn’t effect Q1 too much.
“Then Q2 wasn’t too bad, but I could’ve done a better job in preparing what type of run plan we were going to do for Q3.
“I was too much in doubt whether to do one run or two runs. In the end two runs was the thing to do.
“From a KERS perspective, we got in an absolute mess with KERS on the other run as well. So in the end all the things we could’ve done, driver heavily influenced, we didn’t do the best planning.”
Although Webber has not been an absolute frontrunner this weekend, he was confident that he was capable of joining team-mate Sebastian Vettel on the front row given a smooth qualifying.
“Yesterday practice two was a very good lap, but I didn’t have KERS for that lap, so that was very good pace. This morning was not too bad,” Webber insisted.
“Seb’s been quick here, for sure. But the McLarens were certainly doable, no question about it.
“We just didn’t get it all together, the plan wasn’t organised enough on my side of the garage, and I didn’t help that situation. We got what we deserved in the end.”
Sebastian Vettel’s hopes of winning the Italian Grand Prix will almost certainly depend on him being able to make a clean break at the front of the field in the early stages of the race, reckon his main rivals.
Although Vettel caused a surprise by qualifying on pole position by almost half a second, his rivals are optimistic that the fight for victory is far from over because of the gear ratio choice that the German has taken.
Onboard footage and straight-line speed figures from qualifying suggest that Vettel has almost certainly opted for a shorter gear ratio than his main opposition – which could leave him exposed if he comes under threat from rivals in the DRS zones.
Vettel was slowest of all through the Monza speed trap before the first corner – with his 327.7 km/h figure comparing to Fernando Alonso’s 342.2 km/h, Mark Webber’s 336.1 km/h, Jenson Button’s 333.1 km/h and Lewis Hamilton’s 332.7 km/h
The maximum speed that is measured just before the finish line, shows Vettel is already slower than his rivals there – with him recording 316.6 km/h in qualifying, compared to Michael Schumacher’s 323.5 km/h, Alonso’s 321.3 km/h, Button’s 319.4 km/h and Hamilton’s 318.4 km/h.
Those figures have delivered encouragement for his rivals, who believe that Vettel will not only face a hard time defending the lead if he does not build up more than a one-second cushion at the DRS zone, but also that he will be unable to make the best use of DRS to overtake his rivals if he is behind.
Ferrari technical chief Pat Fry said: “Vettel is running on the limiter for 400-500 metres. So he has a very short gear, and if you look at the overlays, he is a match to us before he hits the limiter.
“That is the choice you make. When you are not using the DRS you will have a better gear ratio choice, and by the look of it Mark has got a longer gear in the car.”
Button said: “I think if you look at the two cars of Mark and Sebastian, I think you see the one who was confident going into qualifying.
“I think Seb expects to lead from the front and not have the issue of trying to overtake anyone. If he is in the DRS zone then he will be on the limiter for the whole straight because he is at 327 km/h the whole straight.
“It is a gamble, especially as we are behind him, and I think he will be quick in the race. But if we can get the jump on him, then I think it will be tough for him.”
Hamilton is even more encouraged by the situation, reckoning that McLaren has the chance of scoring a 1-2 finish in the race if they can put some pressure on Vettel.
When asked why he felt like that, Hamilton said: “It is just optimism. It is because clearly we have been strong all weekend, we have clearly had quite good long run pace and Jenson is in P3 and I am in P2, and there is only one step for both of us to do.
“I think starting here from pole isn’t the best place to start from, I think we are in the best position because it is such a long run down to Turn 1, and we have a strong team behind us and we are quick. There is no reason why tomorrow we cannot compete with the Red Bulls.”
Hamilton insisted, however, that he would not be taking any big risks in the race – because he felt he was still in contention for the title.
“We are still fighting for the championship,” he said. “I don’t want to take any chances. Hopefully we will get a good start, we are in the best position to still fight but again Jenson started quite far back in the last race and showed it is a long, long race and lots can happen.
“Regardless of whether we get the best start of not, we will still be in a fight until the end, so that is the plan.”
Source: Autosport.com