Sebastian Vettel achieved his 40th career pole position in Formula 1 with a dominant performance, as his rivals made a complete mess of the qualifying session.
Fernando Alonso could only managed fifth after another failed attempt in slipstreaming by Ferrari, while neither Lewis Hamilton nor Kimi Raikkonen made it into the top ten.
Mark Webber did however make it a Red Bull one-two, while an impressive effort from Nico Hulkenberg gave Sauber a shock third place on the Italian Grand Prix grid.
Ferrari had experimented with its drivers giving each other slipstreams in final practice, but its efforts to recreate that same strategy in Q3 fell apart.
The cars were never close enough to make the strategy work and appeared to end up spoiling each other’s laps. Felipe Massa eventually qualified in fourth place ahead of Alonso.
Webber looked to have a shot at displacing Vettel right at the end of Q3, but was first on the scene as Jean-Eric Vergne’s Toro Rosso ploughed through the Parabolica gravel.
That left Vettel clearly on pole with a time of one minute, 23.755 seconds lap, two tenths quicker than his Red Bull team-mate.
As for Lewis Hamilton, the 2008 world champion admitted it was poor driving on his part – running wide on the exit of Parabolica – which meant a disappointing qualifying result.
Lotus appeared to be simply short of pace, with Raikkonen and team-mate Romain Grosjean only P11 and P13.
While they all under-performed, Hulkenberg starred with a Q3 lap just 0.037 seconds off Webber’s Red Bull and ahead of the Ferraris and Nico Rosberg’s Mercedes.
Toro Rosso got two cars into the top ten shootout, with Daniel Ricciardo seventh but Vergne’s mistake leaving him tenth.
The McLarens will start behind them, with Sergio Perez out-qualifying Jenson Button.
Force India looked in jeopardy of a Q1 exit until late improvements for both drivers, but there was little progress in Q2.
Post-qualifying, the race stewards handed a three-pace grid penalty for Adrian Sutil. The Force India driver had impended Lewis Hamilton’s run into Parabolica.
Paul di Resta ended up P16, just behind fellow late Q1 escapee Pastor Maldonado.
Rookies Esteban Gutierrez and Valtteri Bottas were ultimately the drivers who joined the Caterhams and Marussias at the back.
So a great result for Red Bull Racing. The team’s fifty pole in the sport, with the triple world champion scoring his fourth pole position of the year. Will we see the superb driver/team combo win again on Sunday? We shall see on one of the fastest tracks on the calendar and the final European race of the season.
Qualifying times from Monza:
1. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m23.755s
2. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m23.968s
3. Nico Hulkenberg Sauber-Ferrari 1m24.065s
4. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m24.132s
5. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m24.142s
6. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m24.192s
7. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m24.209s
8. Sergio Perez McLaren-Mercedes 1m24.502s
9. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m24.515s
10. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m28.050s
11. Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault 1m24.610s
12. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1m24.803s
13. Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 1m24.848s
14. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault 1m25.011s
15. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m25.077s
16. Esteban Gutierrez Sauber-Ferrari 1m25.226s
17. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1m24.932s*
18. Valtteri Bottas Williams-Renault 1m25.291s
19. Giedo van der Garde Caterham-Renault 1m26.406s
20. Charles Pic Caterham-Renault 1m26.563s
21. Jules Bianchi Marussia-Cosworth 1m27.085s
22. Max Chilton Marussia-Cosworth 1m27.480s
107 per cent time: 1m30.221s
*Three-place penalty for impeding Lewis Hamilton
Fernando Alonso insisted he was happy with Ferrari’s Italian Grand Prix qualifying tactics despite the team appearing to squander its chances with an unsuccessful slipstreaming bid.
Ferrari practiced lining up its drivers so they could tow each other on consecutive laps during the morning session.
It then employed the same strategy for Q3, with Felipe Massa running ahead of Alonso.
Radio broadcasts seemed to suggest that Alonso was unhappy with how the tactics were implemented, with Massa too far ahead and the team then abandoning the plan during the final run.
The Spaniard only qualified fifth, behind his team-mate as well as the two Red Bulls and qualifying sensation Nico Hulkenberg’s Sauber.
Yet afterwards Alonso was adamant that all had gone smoothly.
“It was perfect,” said Alonso. “We planned to have [Massa] a little bit in front and he was helping me out on the straights.
“An extra tenth or something was thanks to him.”
He insisted he was actually buoyed by how Ferrari had fared in qualifying, with Mercedes and Lotus both in its wake.
“It was a very good qualifying for us,” said Alonso.
“We were fighting with the top guys, finally, after some qualifying sessions where we were not so good.
“We had a good feeling at Spa as well but then the rain came and it was not so good in Q3.
“Today we were better and we qualified at the front.”
Source: Autosport.com
Lewis Hamilton said his own “idiot” driving caused his Italian Grand Prix Q2 exit, rather than Adrian Sutil impeding him.
The 2008 world champion will line up in 12th place on the Monza grid for Mercedes, the lowest he has qualified since 2010 – not including last year’s Spanish Grand Prix where a penalty took him from first to last.
“It was generally a really poor qualifying session,” said Hamilton. “I didn’t put one single lap together in Q2.
“I just drove like an idiot. That is the worst I have driven for a long, long time. I am sorry for the team.”
The stewards are investigating Force India driver Sutil for blocking Hamilton’s final lap at the Parabolica.
But though Hamilton acknowledged that he had been impeding, he did not think it was the primary factor in his disappointing performance.
“It doesn’t matter anyway,” he said of the Sutil incident. “I should have done it on the lap before anyway.”
Mercedes team principal Ross Brawn told reporters Hamilton was being overly hard on himself, explaining that the driver had not realised the car had a damaged floor after hitting a kerb earlier.
“Lewis was looking OK and unfortunately caught a kerb and damaged the car underneath, and broke the floor,” Brawn explained. “We didn’t realise the consequences of that until a bit later in the session. It was not repairable.
“Lewis is often his own hardest critic. It’s quite endearing that he’s willing to make that sort of statement,” said the Briton.
Hamilton comes into the Italian Grand Prix 58 points behind championship leader Sebastian Vettel.
Source: Reuters
This was an impressive performance by Nico Hulkenberg in the Sauber. He qualified third behind the Red Bulls and yet ahead of the Ferraris. Autosport.com has the details.
Nico Hulkenberg hopes his stunning performance in qualifying for the Italian Grand Prix boosts his chances for the future in Formula 1.
The German driver qualified in third position in the Sauber, making him the fastest driver in a Ferrari-powered car in the Italian marque’s home event.
Ferrari duo Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso qualified behind the Sauber.
Hulkenberg’s future remains uncertain after he did not take up an option he had to commit to a new contract with Sauber, which is struggling this year.
The German welcomed the timing of the Monza performance.
“I can only influence by performing very well and today’s result is not the worst,” said Hulkenberg.
“For me it is important to focus on my competitiveness, on my performance and that will make the rest easier.
“Probably the timing is not the worst at this moment.”
Hulkenberg admitted the result came as a surprise to him, the Sauber driver having never qualified higher than ninth in the previous races this year.
“It is a nice surprise for ourselves, especially after a difficult Friday, with the car changed some bits and bobs,” he added.
“The guys did a great job to give me a competitive car today. I had a good lap which made this surprise happen.”
Mark Webber does not think Jean-Eric Vergne’s mistake in front of him at the end of Italian Grand Prix qualifying cost him pole.
The Australian was on a better lap late in Q3 when Vergne’s Toro Rosso slid through the gravel at the Parabolica.
Webber’s Red Bull was the next car on the scene and lost time in the ensuing dust cloud, remaining second behind team-mate Sebastian Vettel.
But Webber felt Vettel’s final 1m23.755s lap, which he trailed by 0.213 seconds, was out of reach anyway.
“JEV went off at the Parabolica on the last lap and in the dust I couldn’t see if he had just put a wheel off and was continuing on the circuit or where he’d gone,” said Webber.
“Then when I got around I saw he was in the gravel.
“So it cost me, but it wasn’t enough for me to get Seb.”
In addition to the pole boost, Vettel also saw main championship rivals Fernando Alonso, Kimi Raikkonen and Lewis Hamilton qualify only fifth, 11th and 12th.
But the German played down the advantage he would get from the qualifying results, pointing out that Sergio Perez finished second for Sauber from 12th on the grid last year.
“We know how quickly things can change,” said Vettel. “Sergio had a fantastic race coming through with an opposite strategy.
“At least we got our job done but our main job comes up tomorrow.
“Felipe [Massa] is P4, Ferrari was strong in every race this year and they will be strong as well tomorrow.”
Source: Autosport.com
This was a disappointing qualifying session for Jenson Button. The McLaren driver will start the Italian Grand Prix in ninth. Autosport.com has the details.
Jenson Button now regrets running in Q3 at the Italian Grand Prix after only qualifying ninth.
Some encouraging practice times had suggested McLaren might be closer to the front at Monza.
Although it got both cars into Q3, with Sergio Perez eighth and Button, the Briton reckons saving tyres for the race would have been a better tactic.
“Obviously it’s not what we’re here to do, but I think we all realise that now,” he said.
“But it’s not what the fans come to see, so we did the right thing in a way.
“If we hadn’t run, it would have made our options a bit more open in the race tomorrow.”
Button said he had not really expected much better from qualifying, as he felt McLaren had shown more of its hand in practice than its rivals had.
“I think we sort of proved how fast the car will go [in practice],” he said.
But he did admit that being three tenths behind the cars in front – with Daniel Ricciardo’s Toro Rosso just ahead of the two McLarens – was a concern.
“They have a slightly bigger gap than we thought,” said Button. “Three tenths in Q3 is a little bit too much.
“I don’t know where we stand in terms of pace in the race, so it’s going to be interesting to see where that is.
“I think everyone’s going to be on pretty similar strategies so we might have to make it work another way.”
Adrian Sutil has been handed a three-place grid penalty for blocking Lewis Hamilton in Italian Grand Prix qualifying.
Hamilton’s Mercedes came up behind Sutil’s slower Force India at the Parabolica on his final Q2 lap and had to back right off.
The race officials accepted that Sutil had not acted deliberately to halt the Briton’s charge but said a penalty was due.
“The stewards determined the impeding was not intentional, however it is the responsibility of the driver to be aware of the approaching car,” said an official statement.
Sutil therefore falls from 14th to 17th on the grid, promoting Pastor Maldonado, Paul di Resta and Esteban Gutierrez.
Hamilton ended up 12th, but said he was on course for a disappointing result even before Sutil delayed him.
“It doesn’t matter anyway,” he said. “I should have done it on the lap before anyway.”
Source: Autosport.com
Ferrari’s Felipe Massa has commented that he did a really good job despite the issue regarding the drafting in qualifying. Autosport.com has the story.
Felipe Massa believes he did a good job of giving Fernando Alonso a tow in Italian Grand Prix qualifying despite the controversy over Ferrari’s tactics.
Alonso appeared to criticise Ferrari’s attempt to pull off a slipstreaming strategy in Q3, although he later insisted that television broadcast of radio messages had been misleading.
Although Alonso was heard to say “Felipe is too far away” at one point, Massa reckons he judged the situation perfectly.
“I think it was good,” said Massa. “I was four and a half seconds behind [Mark] Webber and Fernando was three and a half behind me, so the tow was completely what we predicted in terms of seconds.
“You don’t need to be very close to the car. If you are very close, your lap time will be slower so you need to be between three and four seconds behind another car.”
Massa outqualified Alonso, taking fourth ahead of his Ferrari team-mate.
Ironically the Brazilian reckoned getting a tow from Webber’s Red Bull was critical to his lap.
“It was very difficult for me because giving the tow to somebody and not having a tow, for sure you lose a tenth and a half or something like that,” said Massa.
“I managed to have a tow only one time in Q3, but on the most important lap – the last one.
“I had Webber in front by four seconds, which was enough to pick up a little bit of a tow.
“It was very important for me to pick up enough of a tow from another car as Fernando was always behind me.”
Daniel Ricciardo is confident Toro Rosso’s decision to set its cars up for strong straightline speed will pay dividends in the Italian Grand Prix.
The Australian was fastest in the main speed trap at Monza, as well as the ones situated at the end of the first sector and the start/finish line.
He was also second fastest in the trap at the end of sector two on the approach to Ascari.
Although his best time through the middle sector, which features both Lesmos, was relatively uncompetitive, the Toro Rosso was strong in the others and quick enough to qualify seventh.
“Hopefully that’s a good sign for tomorrow,” said Ricciardo when shown the speed trap figures.
“Looking at the sector times, you don’t have to be Einstein to figure out we are running quite low downforce.
“Looking at sector two, it hurts us, but tomorrow it should help us for defending or attacking.”
Ricciardo admitted that the low-downforce approach did make the car tricky to drive.
He had an off-track moment at the second Lesmo in Q2, as well as skimming the gravel at the exit of the second chicane in Q3, while team-mate Jean-Eric Vergne had a lurid run through the gravel at the Parabolica on his way to 10th on the grid, but does not expect to have any problems in the race.
“We can’t complain [about the handling] because we both got into Q3,” said Ricciardo.
“A fast car is never an easy car to drive and a few mistakes came during the session.
“It’s not the easiest, but we got some pretty good pace out of it.
“Once we put fuel in there, everything slows down and it gets away from the knife-edge, so on a long-run it should be easier to manage.”
Source: Autosport.com
Lotus driver Kimi Raikkonen was left feeling unhappy that his car was too slow in qualifying. Autosport.com has the news story.
Kimi Raikkonen said his Italian Grand Prix qualifying disappointment was a simple matter of Lotus being too slow in low-downforce trim.
The team failed to get a car into Q3 for the first time this year as Raikkonen and team-mate Romain Grosjean ended up only 11th and 13th.
“This is our speed,” said Raikkonen. “I was expecting to have a difficult weekend because it was last year.
“It seems to be when you have to take a lot of wing out and run in this configuration, it’s not very good for us.
“We were close to getting into Q3 but I think the end result would’ve been very similar.
“We cannot run lower wings without suffering. The balance was not bad but we just did not have the grip.
“I think we are usually better in race conditions. But the others won’t have suddenly slowed down.”
The Monza qualifying result follows Raikkonen’s first retirement of the year at Spa two weeks ago. That dropped him to fourth in the standings, 63 points behind leader Sebastian Vettel.
Raikkonen admitted that with Vettel on pole, his own title hopes were now fading.
“It looks like it. He’s far away again. We have not exactly been the fastest lately,” said Raikkonen.
Lewis Hamilton’s performance in qualifying for the Italian Grand Prix was hurt by damage to his car’s floor, Mercedes boss Ross Brawn has said.
The Briton failed to make Q3 for the first time since the 2010 Malaysian Grand Prix, finishing down in 12th position after saying he had driven like an ‘idiot’.
Brawn revealed afterwards that Hamilton had damaged his car’s floor earlier in the session, and was losing performance as a result.
He said the team found the problem too late to fix it.
“Lewis was looking OK, but unfortunately he hit a kerb and damaged the car’s floor,” Brawn said after qualifying.
“We didn’t realise the consequences of that until a bit later in the session.
“It was irreparable, so that was unfortunate as well. It just wasn’t our day. We have to try to do a better job.”
Brawn admitted it had been a poor day for Mercedes after Nico Rosberg had been hindered by a problem in Saturday morning’s practice session.
“It definitely wasn’t a great day for all of us today,” he added.
“We had a reliability issue with Nico in the morning, which meant we lost most of the session, and to me Monza is always about confidence for the driver.
“I think losing that amount of time was always going to be difficult and it meant we didn’t really have a great balance on Nico’s car during qualifying. That wasn’t great.”
Source: Autosport.com