F1 Italian Grand Prix 2024 - Qualifying - Live Timing & Commentary

e e for e spe for here we go then welcome along ladies and gentlemen it's round of the Formula 1 season in 2024 we are spinning our way around the world and we have arrived for the 74th time of the world championship to the Royal Park in Monza it's the Italian Grand Prix where the temperature is rising and in a few moments time the ref counters and the speedometers will rise with it it is the fastest race of the Season it is the Temple of speed but who is going to be on PO will it be the Prancing horse will it be the Bulls the Silver Arrows or the boys in papaya it is up for grabs and it's been very very close all weekend long just a 10th and a half of a second separating the top five in both fp2 and in fp3 here are the tires coping with track temperatures of 50° for this qualifying session C5 is the soft C4 the medium C3 the hard we'll see the yellow and the White Stripes tomorrow it's all about the red stripes of Martin BR alongside me this is a battle royal at the Royal Park today going to be Incredibly Close will the teams try to do the slip streaming game and help each other along that can be one of two G's either genius or completely Gess if they get it wrong in terms of that slipstream Down The Long straights you want to be several seconds behind to get the effect of another car your teammate punching a hole in the air but then you don't want to drive into that turbulent here as you're going through key sections like the escari chicane here but if you don't you're leaving valuable time on the table and it's too close up front not to at least try that but do you sacrifice one of your drivers it's going to be fascinating and we know that in q1 uh the first part of this qualifying session they're all 20 cars will be out there and they will be tripping over each other even before they get out of the pit Lane as Kar was demonstrating so I'm expecting a lot of tension here but we do know it's going to be fractions a second between the first few rows on the grid yeah the big hearts there in the grand stand I think a heart belongs to ones that ad whether you're a Ferrari fan or not ands with a new power units as well for this weekend which could prove crucial certainly against his teammate but maybe against the others yeah there's no doubt about that in terms of you want your best motor here and power but how much down Force you going to run we think McLaren have added down Force overnight to help the tires we saw the tires on this brand new Surface that's retaining a lot of Heat giving out a lot of grip too um really ripping the tires up on a longer run if you were sliding in other words moving the surface across the tarmac and just ripping the compound apart really so um it's you need the right level of downfall of qualifying then you've then got to take it through the race uh and here's a team that's back on form they C lost their way didn't they in Zan vort last weekend but I think they've understood that and of course it's completely the other end of the downfall Spectrum here you want low downforce low drag you got a lot of straights and not too many corners and what a place to make your Q qualifying debut in Formula 1 Franco kapino brought in to replace Logan sergeant of Williams here at mser as Williams actually give a Formula One debut to a driver for the second here in the last three seasons ni re of course scoring points on his debut and it's a Williams car that might Alex Al and Franco colto the chance to both get into Q3 today very efficient car and absolutely lightning through the ascari sh so 20 seconds or so to go until the start of this qualifying session if you're new to Formula 1 if you don't always watch don't forget we've got three sessions and the slowest five from q1 and Q2 uh both make their way out slow as five and then the top 10 all do a battle for pole in the final parts of qualifying so we have a green light then at the end of the pit Lane and Welcome to our viewers on Sky Sports main event and here in the sunshine at Monza on a completely new resurfaced track I'd like to say everyone's making a rush to get out of the garages but they're not such has been the track Evolution this weekend Martin I think they want to leave it as late as possibly can hurry up and wait they're starting to get ready as we can see there yes and the track has thetion is it was a dirty is a lot of rain Wednesday night new Surface and that means that the resin that comes to the top of new Surface will get bur particularly in the breaking zones and uh traction zones on the way out of corners and the track will just keep coming to them in terms of grip and the temperatures will keep falling as like Noah's Arc as what we're expecting two Ferraris going out together Ted in the pit Lane hello Martin hello Cy hello everybody yes it's just as hot down here in the pit Lane as it is on the track those big Ferrari flags have been put away now by the way so much to the relief of everybody who is sitting under them who can now see and cheer the two Ferraris of charlot Clair and cars as they come out to the garage the two alpines going out as well it's really the alpines who are looking like potentially being the victims of not being able to get out of q1 along with the and maybe Sergio Perez who was in that danger Drop Zone wasn't he in free practice 3 surprise so far been the pace of the Williams and the H of n hulkenberg both of those lot in the top 10 in free practice three coming into this session but yeah otherwise we'll see what the next hour brings it's good one this one cofy given that qualifying in the past has really had a big impact on the race result well this this is more import this place when it comes to getting Pole Position 15 out of the last 24 races here more than Monaco in that time have been won from Pole Position bizarre isn't it when you got such big breaking zones and long straights to slip through each other Jo use the outlier he's right out front on his own then it's two alpines two H and two Ferraris and they'll be rehearsing their slip streaming so we'll keep an eye on who's in front each time it sight doing the hard work out front for Ferrari on this first run and you mentioned two which means Kevin magnus's gearbox issue has been fixed the gearbox replaced after he stopped right at the end of the final practice session it is baking hot here today uh shirt sleeves if shirt at all in the grand stands and going for a hot lap here the man who was on poll this time last year Carlos SS take it away Martin very hard to pick a breaking point you've been the car a while you're turning up absolutely top speed hit the brakes you don't want to lock them but you don't want to leave any time on the table either neat and tidy through the the two apexes there of theile first easy through Cur absolutely flat the doesn't even notice a corner anymore and down to the Rane and this is another big stop a little h and a skip over the curvs and just dip a tire up against the gravel theit lesmo one coming up get the nose in then it banks with you a little bit and hit the throttle early lesmo 2 tightens a bit on the exit this one we've seen a lot of cars in the gravel there including this one that we're on board with that's a shame felt the vibrations just watching it down underneath the old banking the old mons of banking as we go on board now with charir cresting then up into the escar isane the curvs are much Kinder here now on the inside take on the right plenty on the left the exit curvs Kinder as well diagonal the straight for the shortest route be on the left hand side for the parabolic corner one corner to go one decision to make break turn in nose nose loads up staring loads up hit the throttle EAS out towards the outside now cut inside for the shortest run to the Finish Line it's a 20 flat forair and seven turns ahead of n hulber Carlos SS lost seconds in the middle part of his lap a lot of which of course was due to the moment we saw when we were riding on board at the second lesmo uh we felt the vibrations and we'll see he went off into the gra that would have been a mother and father of a shunt if he carried on going left there but sorted it out but that puts him out a sink doesn't it the tire degradation is low providing they don't grain up on the surface so he he'll get another run on those and presumably he'll get some kind of slip streaming service from his mate lir and that time of Shir is already about 3/10 of a second faster than last year's whole time the new resurface track should help that should give us more grip now Red Bull have not had it all their own way so far this weekend and Max wasapp was struggling in the middle part of the lap on his final lap before this session started ended the session I think with lots of conversations in that GAR as to which way they go in terms of their setup not surprised that science wants the floor checks and already the St at a tenth of a second down through the first sector alone yeah that's quite a lot on this track and we know that you know each row on the grid I think will be less than a tenth in the top 10 so here comes that second lesmo you got to carry the speed in and if you've carried too much it's kind of too late you can't do anything about it and then a little pile of gravel there just through the exit building up as various cars go wide I'm surprised the tracks not even faster than it is actually with the curbs being so kind through a scari and the new Surface is less bumpy they can run the cars lower um but for whatever I thought they might be a good couple of seconds faster to be honest but it's more it's more like half a second to a second isn't now interestingly through the middle sector there Max Musta matched charir so losing in the practice session have they now got it right to a certain extent to that middle par but are they losing elsewhere because he's two10 down on charl Clair Lando Norris meanwhile goes top of the pile and the first one into the 119 without slipstream his teammate past is the other side of the RAC track they don't want to give away their true Pace if they do utilize the slipstream just yet if they think they've got enough Pace not to use it and get through that's probably a better way of doing it but what happened to Oscar past down towards the first chicane tires going a little cool because it's such a long straight and that might have contributed to that little lock up yeah and he made it just a little lock up by getting off the brake pedal and I don't know it was bad enough wasn't it both front wheels but um those tires he's kept them rotating they should be okay to go again um but obviously that La is going nowhere so Lando Norris from from Maxa and N hulkenberg the house has got a decent bit of pace as you see with hulkenberg and Magnus both in the top six Al and Kinto Fifth and eighth so far Sergio perz only down in 10th place but we're yet to see what the Mercedes are capable of in this first part of qualifying Hamilton and Russell have now left the garage and they are on their outl so treating the tires nice and kindly before they can start pushing again here comes Oscar pastri a little mistake and eager to make up for that yeah he's been ringing the neck of this McLaren all weekend p and it hasn't always paid him back CU he's had a few Adventures as he heads now down underneath the old banking Nicks a bit of slipstream off a slow car and here he comes in through asari sweeping through there wonderful series of corners and that is then bringing it to the left hand side you want to minimize the angle of the that's your job as a driver shorten the circuit wherever you can get away with it minimize the angle of the corner maximize your mid Corner speed job done s really easy doesn't it it does when you say it yes top three start in zanard it was only the second time in seven races for Oscar past crosses the line and goes fourth fastest T down to you you know when you do a mistake and people remind you of it and give you reasons why you did it that's just what that's just what happened to Oscar pastri with that lock up before before that lap his engineer Tom stard the radio and said Oscar the reason why you had that massive Lo lock up was CU you break 10 m later you break with less pressure on the pedal and there was a massive Tailwind pushing you into the corner so just took a note of explanation perhaps very detailed explanation as well better when they didn't have senses on the cars you can make any old story up and come back in hand them the steer and tell him it's all that's left George Russell to the scar chicade that we go picked up a couple of polls in 2024 the last one at silverston and who got a front row here in 2022 see the sparks flying from underneath the car that is low isn't that Mercedes the both driv been complaining of Hot Seat area and I think it's because the car's rubbing on the ground generating generating a lot of temperature underneath the car he goes four fastest behind Max for Stapp and here comes his teammate leis Hamilton who just slots in behind George Russell himself so about a 10 of a second between the two Mercedes drivers Russell 114 ahead the qualifying head-to-head at Mercedes this season and talking of qualifying head-to-heads they could be clinched at McLaren today if Lando Norris beats Oscar piastri and also at H if Nik hulberg out qualifies Kevin Magnus so car SS trying again science at the moment uh finds himself way way down 20th and using another set of tires he don't necessarily want to do be on the tires or not no he's not same tires as before and we we're hearing that Lewis has gone deep into turn one as well on this current lap so coasting around out there at the moment SS uh SS now putting some better sectors together and he needs to doesn't he but we think actually L is just getting out of the way another down at ter probably get a replay that caros s continues on his way Le hamon by the way George maxford and Norris they were the slowest cars in the speed trap during fp3 Sebastian F won many years ago by being the slowest car in the speed trap nowhere sliding massively over two10 behind Lando Norris and the 120.1 that should ease his way through into the next part of qualifying Pier gazley complained about smoke coming from his front breaks uh has got a bit of pace goes ninth fastest in his teammate estan o follows on behind 10th fastest for the the two Al who are in the points of course with Pierre gazley in Zan last week 6 and a half minutes to go the opening skes Martin have been completed and in that bottom five Joe which perhaps isn't a surprise B perhaps isn't the surprise Yuki sonoda who would have been hoping better from the upgrade package he's running at RB francoo and that car there car number 43 and Sergio Perez and Red Bull do not want or need Perez in that bottom five they don't need him out in q1 or Q2 for that matter so this is this is a test for colapinto now this pressure and it's it is intense pressure You' got to go and deliver probably the best La of your career and make no mistakes while you're doing it and everybody's watching you and there are any number of hundreds of centers on the car and you're being you're being measured in every way you could imagine but you got th that to one side SP your breaking down into turn one andit together a beautiful lap under the most extreme pressure and spotl and the pressure is also on you when you're on an out laap and an in laap because you have to S stick to a certain speed and you can't go slow than that speed and Le Hamilton saying letting people out the way and going deep onto the runoff area turn one he's not going to make that that that time he's going to be a little bit slower than that he's had to let other cars pass it might get picked up by race control but on the radio to Bon to say look don't be surprised if I'm going a bit too slow here it's not my fault no DRS down this particular straight into parol there is on the previous we saw the rear wing of the Williams going up and down so presumbly that was Alex on the um but you set that open on your hot lap and of course you don't need to be within a second or another car for it to work in qualify like you doing the Race you can use it at every opportunity every meter of all the DRS zones of course there are two down to you so Al not being able to pick up a slip stream from another car same for Perez so czecho Perez has just left the PS Cy new of soft tires and nobody in front of him we'll see if he can get a slip stream maybe off Al as recovering to the pits but czecho has got to find 410 of a second to be clear and clean into uh into Q2 with thinking a cut off time of around 20.7 at the moment at 21.1 come on Sergio as everybody else leaves the pits now line of stern so the Mercedes they'll have a toe as well the McLaren everybody actually they're all following each other out out of the pit Lane and historically not one of Sergio Perez best track when it comes to qualify all started in the top three at Monza and he's a driver Sergio Perez that made his Deb here back in 2011 and Alon using all of the track and a little bit more as well in the earlier part of this lab it's only a yellow middle sector meaning it's not a personal best and it's certainly not the fastest of anybody the nose in and you pick up the throttle so early in that corner as long as you don't run wide you're fine and that this is the cut to the line and elbon goes up into p8 while he does that Oscar pastre has been noted for an unsafe release down in the pit Lane teed krait I don't know if youve got a view of that or not I was watching everybody and nothing stood out I'm sure we'll get a replay but uh let's see what the replay shows I didn't notice anything massive and I normally pick up on these things well have look in a second yeah I'm told it was in front of Max V staffin so here's Max V staffen coming out the gar which seems impossible tight had to get out of but he does it and as he tumbles along there goes OSAP piastri oh dear crash yeah saw that Max that is an unsafe releas it is unquestionably um so M will have to go and explain themselves on that one they were exonerated from the blocking impeding when they in free practice 3 this morning when pest was caught up in quite a messy situation with Ricardo andair as well but yeah they're starting to lean now on the very extremities of the RAC track as Perez trying to find himself irrelevant and fast enough lap time two minutes go Sergio Perez with a personal best in the middle sector so has he saved a bit of performance life in these tires to cope with the final sector and that parabolica and has he got the pace down the street to lift himself clear of the danger zone ninth fastest at time of a 12 59 he's right on the cusp Sergio Perez of being in or out and he might be holding his breath a little bit for the next couple of minutes Kino Magnus and hulkenberg we got the stopwatch on them and both H is improving in the first sector Kino not putting in his best T of time dips another tire to the grass and then the gravel and that could have been very nasty as well and it's ruined his lap but he's done very well to stay upright as it were and continue onwards that was a good save it was a great save he had another one of those didn't he in parabolica yesterday but it's hurt his lap as it has done there for Kevin Magnus as well in the house going wide through a scari the problem for Kinto is can he charge his battery up and have another run full power it's going to be tough from there isn't it I think it is and it's going to be tough as well for the house cuz he's run out of grip Kevin Magnus at the parabol goes off the track and on the gravel and that is bad news for him and anyone approaching during those yellow flags Alonzo crosses the line to start a lap Magnus eventually crosses the line green flag's coming out now but in that bottom five Joe gr and Val botas not improving enough soda is down there and he's on the lap kapino can start again if he's got the battery power L Str only 15th fastest which means Daniel Ricardo is going to put l Str very of risk here L stroll who was knocked down in q1 in the last two years mon was the slowest qualifier last year he's in that bottom five currently because Cod has moved up Ricardo also moves up to 15th and that's going to see stroll out of qualifying again here in q1 as pastri is next to cross the line goes third fastest overall and Max vppa will be next across the line he could go quick right at the end unless he backs off right off didn't he that's interesting didn't want to show he's got a gremlin but like he didn't want to show his Pace there so magnus's car broke down on him basically he managed to recover it to the pit so the yellow flag went away and others could then complete to that when we saw those passing Magnus they were only under a white flag telling them there's a slow car ahead so I don't think they be getting any penalties there and well Kinto then that mistakes cost him a grid slot but the big shot there you'd have to say is L stroll in the Aston Martin isn't it yeah it's a third year in a row he's been knocked down in q1 but he was the youngest ever front row sitter here at Monza many many years ago so ason Martin in that bottom five along with Yuki sonod he and his teammate Daniel Ricardo separated by only what 400s of a second Franco kap's first ever form qualifying ends in 18th it could have ended in the barriers and botas and Joe are the two slowest once again out in front it's Lando Norris the only driver in the one minute 19s what's to come from the restair pastri SS and Russell completing the top five e e he e yeah sorry for that guys like we we had to drive offline all the way around so we can't do this yeah unfortunately it's due to our position track there's nothing situation do that we're going to try our best goes with the eventually ends up on the gravel has a big snap manages to save it oh my God man fortunately for him it was earlier in the session so he got to do another lab unfortunately for Franco kapino in his first F1 qualifying session similar in fact carrying more R Ste in that Williams leso sliding sliding FR hoping it and doesn't he ends up on the opport Ed out maybe take another look at that unsafe release that's being investigated as Martin and said it was really a slam duck I mean Stafford's driving along here and I'm just trying to see where that McLaren mechanic is looking and certainly not looking anding coming down the pit Lane you know and that is a mistake there by not acknowledging and recognizing that bin was coming along so I think the team will be in trouble with that one um and I think we've got some Kevin Magnus radio we can listen to now oh my God man yeah it ruined the end of Kevin magnus's lap he is though through to the next part of qualifying which has been delayed because there's a lot of gravel on the track that needs sweeping away before we get going again meanwhile I've just read the guidelines the st's guidelines for penalties and releasing a car an unsafe uh release for car team f if it happens during qualifying so I'm not expecting Oscar pastri to get a penalty on the grid for that let's just have a quick look at what's going on on the track I said that the there was a lot of gravel I'm assuming those witches brooms Martin they are the most effective way to get rid of yeah carbon fiber obviously and high tech but no it looks like a quick way rather than having to get machines out there and then recover those machines back to a and you don't want them going the wrong way around the racetrack either back to a service road it's better to get out there with a bit of elbow grease yeah and amongst two Silver Arrow machines in the Mercedes garage is Bradley Lord he's our expert in the pit lane or in the garage for us this weekend down at Mercedes right take us through that first part of qualifying not without its drama for either of your drivers but they're both safely through man I'm so ridiculous it's so drive it's so ridiculous let's keep it clean on the radio bring the car back inputs just to keep Tire temps under control particularly the rear axle avoid it sliding the rear end too much CU that puts temperature in that then just penalizes them around the rest of the lap so that's the conversation going on here right now talking of temperature both your drivers seem to have very warm bottoms uh going down the straight what is what is that about and why can't you do anything about it um it's a little bit to do with how much the car's touching the ground and um that you know we want to run it as quick in the quickest configuration can Martin so that means running low because that's where these cars perform best um there's also potentially something with the airflow or the arrow we've added wind screens to the car as well to change the airf flow around the cockpit to try and help that but to be honest it's something we'll really dig into after this week to to better understand because I don't think we've got a full grasp of why the cooling air isn't going where it should or not to toe that could be the question what's the answer of Mercedes I think if you ask anyone on the piter wearing an engineering shirt here it's to not toe because what you gain on the straights you lose more in the corners and you slide in the corners as well so you want to be in the swirl but at a good six to S second Gap we think thanks Bradley we'll speak to you after Q2 which will get underway Martin in three minutes time so everyone gets a chance to to catch their breath somewhat only driver in the one minute 19 and that was Lando Norris and he didn't need a toe to do that no you're right and good speed from him it's 310 quicker than last year's pole already as we say there we explained the tracks changed quite a bit since then and and I thought it would be a bigger Delta bigger difference than that but it doesn't really matter it matters on uh how they line up and which times they can get out now we've still got 48 and a half degrees temperature massive temperatur there over 33 air temperature which takes away grip takes away performance um but we'll expect that to keep dropping a little bit over the next few minutes or so what's going on there Dash to get rid of the tires on Pierre gaz's Alpine and swwa them for another set so have they do they have a new set on and they're going to go with used at the start of this uh Q2 session or just have they just been cooling a little bit while they've been in their blankets we'll send Ted down to find out and while we do that let's hear from Yuki s he's in the the upgraded RV finds himself out of q1 just me through that did you get caugh out by the yellow flags cuz I didn't see where you were on track at the time I didn't no so tell talk me through you're qualifying then what do you think yeah I think um just gener this week uh lck of pace and uh I mean there this different across the car and maybe some I don't know it's affecting my performance or either my driving I don't know but yeah I mean definitely yeah soon as that we have to understand what's what's going on and obviously a lot of things have to S up with this uh new new Flor are there different bits when you say different bits on the car different to Daniels or different so you've got different parts to Daniels are running this weekend yeah okay and at the moment they're just not working for you well it should be wor it's up I was pretty pretty terrible and um managed to close the gap session by session I mean limitations are there and never able to acheve to a car that we that want I hope tomorrow better thank you Yuki s talking there with Rachel Brooks and they're changing the tires down at Mercedes as well on Lewis Hamilton's car while they do that once again the two Ferraris have decided they want to get on with it quicker than anyone else we have a green light Q2 is underway and take cbit down to you and everybody who's gone out so far are just looking down to that RB of Ricardo going out are on the the used tires so I think that was what was going on uh at Alpine cof D I didn't see it because I'm flushed to the garage and I can only see into Aston Martin and uh actually into the McLaren garage but uh it looked like they were just changing the tires nothing else than that but good job by Aon and gazley to actually get into Q2 in the first place so yeah well done to them even though Aon did find that uh by having to drive offline to avoid other cars on the out laap his tires weren't in great condition once he got there osar has just left the garage and has cut up Lando so he's he's Keen to get out whatever's going whatever session he's in Oscar pest today all the drama with Oscar P Martin in the first five or 10 met of Le the G to he gets onto the race track itself so um let's see what these can do so we got two Ferraris two alpines and once again they' got magnuson's car going so both Hass are out because they both got through to Q2 and that's what h stroll and Coda for example um and then it looks like both Red Bulls lining up as well uh L Stern and they are indeed and Johnny noes Oscar piastri just coming out as well I'm sure will will be joining him and and is so right there look back at anger here we go once more in anger for the next lot of runs and you would imagine if they're all on the soft tires that have been used it'll be the uh it'll be the runs towards the ends that will count most but all it takes is one yellow flag at the wrong time and you're finding yourself out of a qualifying session you'd hope to have been safely through into Q3 so it all counts every lap of the track and here we go with caros G Towing a but he's quite close to the clear as well there P gazley trying to steal the bit of slip from the Ferrari um as long as he doesn't find himself in the turbulent air behind the two Ferraris really otherwise gazley will start getting heard on that Ricardo doesn't have a teammate of course he's lost so at the moment he ssy Magnus around what gaz's hoping is that the slipstream that lir is getting from science will keep him far enough Away by the time they get to C Grande where Gaz is going now for it not to interfere with him whatsoever but it would have given him a little bit of extra speed down the St to start his lab we've got cameras on Carlo SS and on board as well with Charlotte Clair don't forget if you want to ride on board with any of the drivers you can do so uh on board uh footage and team radios skysports app you need your skyports login or if you're now customer skyq Sky glass or Sky stream you can press the interactive button on your remote control and SS with a couple of tents up through the first sector on the CLA and the CLA was a couple of tents up on SS through the middle sector when you see the magent fastest sector of anybody that's for the session it's not for the two sessions combined at 264 for hulkenberg was pretty impressive through the first sector a science set time number 12.3 which is two10 down on his best time in q1 and the CLA is also 210 down on his best time in q1 but don't forget they're both running a used set of soft compound tires so not quite as griffy not quite as much life as you would have from a brand new set and I think both McLarens are on brand new new tires as are both not Perez Red Bull on new tires gley had a bit of a moment on his lap that we didn't see Kevin Magnus goes third fastest ahead of Daniel Ricardo by quite some margin hulber then goes into the top three himself down the back straight with Max for Stafford as you can see on those new tires setting purple lap sector times and pastri finding more grip than Max Musta is Musta round the parabol now finding himself on a run without Po and a run without wins that he wouldn't have thought of at the start of the season but does manage to put his red into the one minute 19 next across the line Oscar pastri he goes faster by the mest margin of 600s of a second and Lando Norris is blasting out of the parabolica right now with his foot flat to the floor Hunting for the line and it's top place for him by eight 100s of a second all three of them on brand new tires the top three this is going to be close and red pull are in the fight only just over a tenth of a second 10th and a half separating Norris pastri and the stord McLaren and Red Bull the two protagonists in the Constructors Championship which Red Bull have led since Spain 2022 but are coming under increasing pressure and could see that lead go this weekend Gaz Lo into the top 10 they go but we'll wait for times from Alonso from Hamilton from Russell Alor and Ricardo Alonzo seeking a fifth consecutive Q3 appearance which would TI his best run of the year I think the hulkenberg magnon times will surprise a few Runners out there as well in seventh and eighth at the moment Alex Al through the first sector there all there abouts and certainly the performance of the Williams the new upgraded Williams has attracted a lot of attention from those in the Midfield this weekend Alex Alon really stretching the limits of the track again and and why not that's what you got to do he's he's got so much confidence now in this car that he's really ringing out and then just kicks a bit of dust up here and there as Al again as I mentioned earlier on you got to shorten the RAC trck minimize the angle of the corners he's trying to pick up some slip stream down the back straight on the McLaren of his way that's Lando Norris as he goes into the final turn and PO on so close to the outside of the track cuts inside then for that short run ALB then ahead or between the two hes on the three previous occasions he's qualified here at mon he's always been in the top 10 has Alex Al that's where he finds himself currently Fernando Alonzo's improving through the first two sectors leis Hamilton is improving and George Russell proving as well on their previous best that we saw during FP during q1 I should say here's George Russ around the parabolic we come and foot flat to the floor once more 10th and a half behind Lando Norris but ahead there just behind I should say Max for STA and Alonzo puts his car into the top 10 for the time being not for long though as Le Hamilton goes fastest overall and he puts nearly a tenth of a second between himself and Lando Norris that's a good effort there from got a bit of a nice slip stream uh which I think will be important um but again both Mercedes on brand new tires Ted kravis down to you and that Ferrari you saw behind leis Hamilton just starting its lap both SS andair made a uh a race star Pit Stop In The Box guys to put on new tires so now we're going to see the real pace of the Ferraris we are indeed that means they were carrying unnecessary fuel then for that first run so they get rid of a little bit of fuel that speed as well and now Ferrari out there as you said on brand new tires this is it can they join the party can they make it effectively an eight at least an eight-way fight for pole position for the front row of the grid the margins are so so tight here and and when the margins are this tight it is all down to the performance of the drivers not just the performance of their car which is why it's so special and Charlotte Clair just missing out a little bit he's nearly a 10 and a down through the first two sectors whilst his teammate with that brand new power unit in his Ferrari for this weekend and the man who was on poll this time last year gets his foot to the floor and goes third fastest overall lost out a bit in the final sector as did Carlos SS here's mcair Hy Telly above us and only p7 with that then is that enough I mean it's half a second difference pretty much between Char declair and Fernando Alonzo down in 11th place currently but deair would have fancied he would have been a bit closer to Hamilton at the end of that lap yeah and confirmed they were on new tires so at the moment then alono is in the elimination Zone Aon M haven't had a great deal of speed here have they and a few outliers like hulkenberg like albon could well spoil the great Fernando alonso's day but they got another run and it's going to be oh so close isn't it at the front car is not uh he's not turning at all yeah he means relatively speaking of course cuz it's it is turning there at turns again but what he means is he's he's not he turns the steering wheel and the car's not obedient it's not flowing into the corner for him and the sort of speed he's cornering it matters and this is a Ferrar had a lot of time and effort put into it to be vastly upgraded including a brand new floor for this weekend it's such an important weekend for the team so Perez I don't think has been on I don't think that's his he's not been on Fresh tires yet Sergio perz so that three4 of a second of his is not representative deficit I mean he would have had to have used another set of new tires that he might not have wanted to to lift himself out of the bottom five during the the first part of qualifying alono handing back the TV monitors the the data has been studied and he knows now I would imagine in his mind where he can go a little bit faster and shave off a few T of a second of his lap time twice a winner of course here at Bonza for McLaren in 2007 Ferrari in 2010 what a weekend that was for him as well racing and winning for Ferrari at the home track so here's the knockout time 12.2 so if you take that plus on minus point2 of a second if you're if you're Alex albon and ni hulkenberg and Sergio Perez who are all at 120.4 you could be safe but let's see what Alonzo and Magnus gazley okon and Ricardo can do on their final laps here just taing on used tires although he's behind his teammate it looks like he's going to get a slip stream there only one McLaren out the does that mean Hamilton and Norris are confident with the first in second place moment that they're fast enough to clear the bar and get to the top 10 shoot outs could be 810 of a second difference between Hamilton and and the the cut off time so you think they would be safe Russell and lir still in the garage andair might have four10 at least two t in hand they wouldn't want to go out again though and and use up got a certain amount of soft tires they can use they wouldn't want to waste them or have to use them shall we say to get into Q3 they they want to have two bites at the Cherry for a pole position meanwhile EST van Aon trying to get into the top 10 here where he has been before but as far back as 2018 and 2017 when he qualified third on the grid here so Perez on the brand new tires but it's still looks as if he'll be giving a slip streaming servers to his teammate Max for St as head towards parabolica ready to start the LA Kevin Magnus who has been into the barriers already this weekend at the second of the lesmos and has seen his car stop on track and in the first part of qualifying saw his car run wide and into the gravel it's been quite the adventure for a man who hasn't scored a point here since his first ever Italian Grand Prix racing for McLaren in 2014 whilst he a little bit pedestrian with a 265 in the first sector his team ni hulber absolutely flying and setting the fastest of the first sector times we've had so far yeah and both Mercedes are heading out again so no sign of Norris then at the moment in terms of running again so what do we got 13 of the 15 cars on the RAC trck y Norris and SS are the only two that could come out that have decided not to so just under two minutes to go Kevin Magnus trying to put himself into the top 10 if he possibly can one of three drivers who haven't appeared in Q3 in 2024 and it hasn't happened for him here 12 fastest only for Kevin Magnus his teammate Nik hulkenberg stays nin fastest did he push too quick too soon he didn't improve at all in the final sector Sergio Perez trying to get a toe behind Pierre gazley and a distant toe if he got one but it might just help his cause around the B we come Red Bull desperately need him to to partner Max for staff into Q3 crosses the line only eigh fastest 12.2 he is right on the cusp Ricardo is improving and Alonzo hasn't started his final lap just yet and Perez backed off there didn't I didn't see his rear wing open Ricardo misses out only 11th fastest for Daniel Ricardo 19,000 of a second between himself and this man Alex Al EST has put a personal best in for the first sector as has Alex Alber in fact they matched each other with a 264 Alonzo's also done a 26.4 during the first part of the lap perz I think should be safe here and because it's only Alonzo and Aon that can improve I would imagine to to usur him although gaz's done a 266 so he's on a flyer down currently in 14th now B to cross the line with to be a little bit away from 10th one place away from 10th goes ninth fastest overall good effort there from Alex album what can Fernando Alonzo do in response currently p12 only up to p 11 he misses the cut he misses a fifth consecutive Q3 appearance by one 100th of a second and eston can't improve so Sergio Perez does make it through orbe it half a second off the has being set by Lewis Hamilton the two Alps 14th and 15th I don't think they were expecting much from this weekend I think the perz the team probably realized he he was through not to use those tires too hard to get save them for the next one the rear wing didn't come open and he backed off before the first Corner yeah George Russell just dialing himself in on a set of used soft compound tires and whether he'll complete the lap or not I wouldn't imagine he doesn't need to go any faster I think he's just trying to get his eye in for what's going to be a very important Q3 to come those missing out on Q3 gazley and oon for Alpine Magnus and Ricardo for H and for RB and Fernando Alonzo for Aston Martin that man there was trying to get into Q3 for a fifth consecutive appearance and it hasn't happened for a team that have just been slightly off the pace and that will be his worst qualifying start better than [Music] expect worst qualifying start here I should say in 2018 they weren't expecting much by one 100th of a second he misses out on that Q3 Hamilton with the fastest time Max foren second fastest Norris SS pastri Russell the guys in the 119s for e for yeah honestly that was B what Happ yeah agre good job on the fringes of the top 10 Daniel Ricardo a glorious glorious moment here a few years ago uh when he won for McLaren in 2021 but on the fringes today and he'll start 12th for this year's Italian Grand Prix meanwhile Lewis Hamilton fastest with a 1196 but Bradley Lord at Mercedes it is so so tight I imagine if you had chickens you wouldn't count them just yet definitely not now I mean it's it's going to be about putting everything together in that last lap um we see cars improving on second lap that's probably not going to be relevant for Q3 because most of the top cars will have two new sets and be doing that first lap that they're aiming to hit to get the peak of the tire grip as to get the most out of that tire so yeah I think the drivers are still trying to assemble their perfect sectors into a single lap and we'll see what happens when it's all on the line in a few minutes time and you're still feeling the same way on Mercedes pit about slip streaming teammates y absolutely I think um you know Lewis obviously has gone fast this George a little bit of will'll be in the more in the pack than maybe we were in the last two sessions and it's that swirl effect that that you're looking for so yeah Mercedes garage Kimmy Antonelli gets announced for next year has a crash during qualifying and they might be on poll as well yeah car's going well isn't it uh yeah they they dipped out a little bit in zambo and they said they understand why now and they're certainly right back in here game and they've w three out of four races hadn't they there um just before Zan with all due respect to Alex Alon and niik hulkenberg I think this is about the top eight and their battle here and and Ted Kravitz it is wide open Sergio Perez we know he's capable of a lap and he could certainly put his Red Bull ahead of a Ferrari or a Mercedes or a McLaren and who knows what's going to happen in the first couple of rows on this well he certainly could do cofy I'm actually quite interested to see who wins the Alex alour Nik HW battle my money's on the Hulk I'm just pulling a name out of nowhere right I told you I was looking into at Landon Norris's garage indeed at the end of Q2 I think Hamilton did just to get a read on the conditions that's kind of been Mercedes Mo hasn't it cofy they they tended to do that um even though he was already quicker but you know let's not forget I know zort was only a week ago Cy but let's not forget the driver's world championship and Lando needs to put as many points as possible and as much distance between him and Max ven his rival for the world championship as possible in the likes of well ven being quicker than him in that Q2 session even though I know Lando didn't do another run at the end and leis Hamilton being in the mix it just complicates things doesn't it it does for Lando if he was thinking about the driver's Championship which he says he is not I don't believe it but yeah you got to say bigger picture with St great turn around if that does turn out to be the case that that Max finishes ahead of Lando in this session regardless of what Hamilton does that's a great turnaround of a car that was not happy all weekend so far from Red Racing he's never been on poll here Max for by winning qualifying as well if you remember back to was it 2021 he he got pole after the Sprint race and Val botas who won it had to take power unit penalties in fact the reel gotle here at Monza was with s vettle back in 2013 that has any bearing on what we're about to see in the next 11 and a half minutes I don't know quite a mixture of cars out there now we in terms of the line the two McLaren and a line a Stern there Norris behind piastri and uh where are the Ferraris are they going out no they're not going out together again because they've got a Red Bull of Max for stappen between them so boasting out then you don't want to take any life out of those tires if you can help it on your way around then of course at the beginning of the session you can relax somewhat more you know you're not going to be in somebody's way just yet so that line that Lando Norris has just crossed that's the important line there you can go as slow as you want really up until that line after which you got to stick to a Delta time why there uh Ferraris not L we saw that one as well y Max M Stafford popped out the garage and the Ferraris came out as well I'm not sure I saw anything wrong with the release that one was a bit Touch and Go wasn't it wasn't quite as clear as the McLaren one earlier on but it's a team fine in terms of the guidelines not grid penalties for unsafe releases during qualifying even though Oscar past's incident will be investigated after this session so join the conversation it said who will be on the front row you get out you guesstimate out from here a very very good effort oh quite you wouldn't put it past Max for stord to come out with a belter of a lap right at the end and certainly that's what they're hoping for on that particular pit wall but the thing is it's tight it's close the margins are very very fine and these are some of the finest drivers in the world too and Oscar piastri three front rows in his Formula 1 career so far seventh on the grid here last year could he be the one to pull a lap out he's he's got himself some nice clean air no one really in front of him as he crosses the line Sergio Perez is just through the first chican piastri on his way there ahead of that a 265 for Alex Alber in the first sector a 264 for Nico hulkenberg the has once again very efficient very Speedy in that first sector pastri neatly nicely through that first chane Lando Norris now starting his flying lap sound like a little bit of wheel spin clar coming out of the first chicane but he's up and running his first sector 264 264 by a few hundreds of a second faster than Sergio Perez and quicker too than albon and hulkenberg but Lando Norris's teammate pulls a few hundreds more in terms of an advantage through that first sector behind him Carlos SS with a 262 for Ferrari a Ferrari the Prancing horse about to pounce here Al 12.8 crosses the line to finish his lap pastri with a very good middle sector to they are queuing up now to try and grab this provisional pole yeah P really ringing his neck yet again kicking up the dust into the escari shicane pick your Breaking Point load the front axle up get on the throttle as hard as you can he's really as far wide as he'd want to be there cut to the line pastri goes for it and crosses the line 1194 the adantage that science had in the first sector was wiped out by pastri in the middle sector what about Lando Norris though can he go ahead of his teammate yes he can by three 100ths of a second provisional Poll for the man who was on pole in San for last week science only third fastest fell away a bit towards the end of the lap Here Comes Max for staffen and he is only fifth fastest and not into the 119s charir next across the line second row for charir McLaren with the advantage and a sizable Advantage as it stands but now George Russell and Le Hamilton for Mercedes as round the parabolica taking the car to the limits pushing as hard as he can is it another pole for George Russell no second row but aead of Science in the Ferrari his teammate leis Hamilton seven polls in the past here joins Russell on the second row and that though is very very good news for McLaren that way Norris on provisional pole Max foren the championship leader down in eight yeah it's a very no out GD at the moment isn't it two McLaren two Mercedes two Ferraris two red bulls now ven was on new tires I'm going to assume he had a problem out there somewhere because Perez wasn't Perez on used tires but out qualifies him at the moment haven't seen any incidents or heard about anything but uh I don't think that's fully representative what the stappen can deliver here but look at that from McLaren when when you see your two cars that close together you know yeah you know all this set shocking so he had a tiny moment in ascari apparently but it's General grip then he's talking about so a brand new set of tires didn't yield him the grip he expected and that's left for Sten down in eighth place at I say when you see two drivers like Norris and piastri so close together like that you know you're getting very close to the limit of the car but that that's cracking lap times there from both McLarens well let's see through parabolica with Max for Stafford [Music] W you don't want too many of those no and you you're late on the throttle then you lose time all the way to the Finish Line Ma happen hasn't been out qualified by his teammate Sergio Perez since Miami 2023 it's a 32 race streak and he finds himself behind Perez currently they were only separated by one 100th of a second but that's the situation he finds himself in Ferrari will be really disappointed Martin to be down Fifth and six currently at their home track and I dare say Mercedes won't be too unhappy to be in the middle of a McLaren Ferrari sandwich yeah and and getting the two ferar is 3,000 of a second apart again suggesting that you're getting to the limit of your of your car Ted kravit by the McLaren garage what's the sense down there well it's quite calm I mean I you know we know that the both drivers were happy with the setup with the balance Norris and pest happy with the balance and setup of the car they just didn't know where they were going to end up so either that's you know amazing laps by both of them or Hamilton or you know we we've heard V didn't like that set of tires and Hamilton's maybe Pace has just uh dropped off a bit but yeah uh McLaren really looking like they're in the the pound seat so far and now we have the familiar Monza last run in Q3 pause cofy I love it I know it so well as everybody else waits for everyone waits for everybody else to go out it's a little pause for Thought isn't it the Royal Park Falls silent before the cars get to their noisy PE just a few moments time F margins between teammates F margins team to team stappen on the back foot hoping against hope maybe that he can climb up three or four places because for a man and a team that have comfortably LED championships for such a long time when things like this happen they know not the pack has caught up it has overtaken them and nothing is for certain and suddenly you're pushing the car and it's sliding and you're locking brakes and uh you know as soon as the time the stopwatch and the timing board looks different suddenly your car doesn't feel so dominant after all and and that's what's going on at the moment look so narrow down there doesn't it when they head off down into turn one but again then it's Perez ahead of a STA and this time both on brand new tires you'd expect everybody to be on brand new tires for this final run Alex Al certain years is this the final roll of the dice and Red Bull here Bradley L was saying you know you can lose outs when it comes to qualifying if you try and practice the toe but Red Bull saying we we need to to to get this toe to get the slip stream because we just haven't got the uh we haven't got the grip through the corners we need to sort it out on the straights it looks a bit like that doesn't it with Perez yet again out out front of mappen and again we've got both McLaren going out but they tend to separate a little bit down the line Norris ahead of piastri this time and then both Ferraris again and obviously only one H and one Williams in it so this is it have they been sandbagging about s streaming will they try and keep out of each other's way in terms of teammates it'll be theair who crosses the line I no it won't it'll be Russell and Hamilton who crossed the line last they should all have plenty of time we're not going to see the chaos where they miss the green lights I don't think they are doing the toe necessarily at Red Bull because Perez has disappeared off into the distance as it stands McLaren have a front row lockout for the first time here since 2012 when Lewis Hamilton won from pole can Max for stappen though get in amongst them the championship leader at the moment is at the bottom of the top eight the big four teams and is the slow so fast to take us through this lap Martin yeah he wants to be about 7 seconds behind Perez to get a decent sliping without getting harm in the corners he's he's about there he'll be getting a little bit of help in the distance they're beginning to catch the two Mercedes on their outl which will get out of the way and into the second chicane it's turning nicely enough now was able to hit plenty of throttle in the middle of that chicane lesmo W get the nose in the banking will help you open the steering wheel that was plenty wide to Titans through the exit and have somebody else already gone wide through there as well was that Perez indeed that went wide through there kicking up the dust under the old banking under the bridge onto the plateau break super super late nothing is coming together the car moving around like crazy for theen as well in the middle of a scari this does not look like a classic Max for STA and Pole Position lab he's won here for the last two years from Seventh and from the front row Max V might have to do something miraculous tomorrow to try and make it a third win in a row he finishes seventh ahead of his teammate Sergio Perez who was the car that went off in the middle sector at the second of the lesmos and kicks up all that dust so he does out qualify perz and keeps that record going but only seven fastest for Max for stappen Carlos SS trying to get pole position for a race on his 30th birthday Gart berer did it bar in 95 mik hacken at the nurburg ring in 97 science has gone well through the first and second sectors But Here Comes the man in provisional pole so far Lando Norris hoping to make it backto back polls he crosses the line now and improves on his time so he's put a bit more distance between himself and his teammate Oscar pastri he hasn't improved pastri in the first two sectors crosses the line stays second fastest it is still a McLaren front row lockout Here Comes car he can't make it PO for his birthday it's third fastest for him and the Ferrari it's fourth fastest for him and the Ferrari as his teammate Shan the player takes that third place and now we're just keeping an eye on the two Mercedes they've both got one personal best in a sector and they they're near enough they need a mighty final corner and drive to the line George Russell who's been on pole twice during 2024 is it going to be a third time lucky for him fastest though and third on the grid for George Russell what about Lewis Hamilton six on the grid only he'll start alongside Carlos SS Mercedes tried the challenge couldn't quite make it Ferrari tried the challenge couldn't quite make it Red Bull didn't have the challenge today and didn't make it and it is that team in papaya and that man Lando Norris that take a front row lockout and pole for the Italian Grand Prix and handy for his world championship title hopes as well isn't he Lando norrris with Max foren struggling it must be said down there in seventh place McLaren lock out the front row but what a lap from George Russell one1 of a second covers the top one and a half T covers the top four top five indeed incredible we knew it was going to be tight it certainly was the asri has to settle for another Front Row the fourth in his career George Russ will take I'm sure that third on the grid it's a fairly long run down to the first Corner 476 M at the start tomorrow and he'll fancy his chances to get in the slipstreamer to try and make a move from third but let's give it up for Lando Norris backto back polls for the first time in one I'm sorry my bad okay mate I'm sorry your uh lap was good enough the pole cool mean uh your setup was amazing what love you to congrats he says he doesn't think about some of these radio messages he's becoming quite Adept at some of these radio messages but is the inference there that he thought he could have gone a lot faster yeah he wasn't pleased with that lap was he um but it was good enough he did a 199 q1 197 Q2 and then the one 19.3 for Q3 and that was just enough three behind four behind him in the same tenth of a second so that's the margins we're talking about around here and Lando made the difference and the good news is on the race runs during fp2 there was an equal uh tightness shall we say in the average lap times so what we've seen today in qualifying there is the promise that that's going to continue on into tomorrow's race as well yeah well they gave us everything we expected um apart from the two red bulls being half a second off the back of Hamilton in sixth yeah Hamilton sixth there seventh and eighth and in fact only two t ahead of Alex albon in the Williams who's had a stellar qualifying session hasn't he and he did out qualify Nico hulkenberg for that particular battle Alex albon started ninth here in 2020 but he's always been in the top 10 whenever he's been into qualifying here ven has started from pole only once in the last nine races and I know he did win qualifying in Spar and had to take that engine penalty but that's not Championship form at all no and worse than that it looked such a handful didn't it I mean when we picked him up with a hel shot through the escar isane towards the end of the lap I mean it was all over the place and Earth's going on with that car it's it's it's gone from being on Rails to looking really quite difficult to drive it certainly has and without the the top speed to promise you know a chance of overtaking tomorrow as well this was Perez we saw the dust and it came from this corner the second lesmo Corner that that that's the handful you're talking about Martin yeah a little bit of understeer is wandered wide and that will have chewed the underneath the car a little bit and then of course that sends Max for Sten who's already gone wide himself in the first lesmo that sends him some dust to drive into which doesn't help him either oh dear that wasn't Red Bull's day but it was McLaren's day David veki has the microphone in his hand and a McLaren driver in front of him say to everyone to Oscar second Today front row for tomorrow how was your lap man you were there yeah the the first lap in Q2 in Q3 was was quite good just the second one uh not quite enough which uh I feel like I've said a few too many times this year so uh no still a good performance and uh a really good team effort you know I think the The Field's been incredibly tight this weekend so I think I said on the radio you know there was no guarantee of a front row lockout for us so um yeah an amazing effort to to be able to pull that off yeah fantastic moment for you and for your team what do you what do you expect about tomorrow race because seems that you are in a perfect moment with your car yeah I mean starting a bit further up the front than last week is definitely a positive for myself uh it's obviously a long run down to turn one so starting second here is is not always the worst thing but um yeah let's see what the the tires do tomorrow it's been uh a little bit different to what we're used to in Monza so uh yeah could be a pretty exciting race and with such a a tight feel at the front I think it will be very exciting well done congratulations front from Tomorrow Oscar p and now we have George Russ to see George Russell third position just at the end how was your lap and was your car to drive yeah it was great uh ending up P3 a little bit better than I expected because it was a really tough session q1 and Q2 and fortunately we saved it until the end not too far behind the McLaren they're so fast at the moment and um we're working so hard to to catch them up but I'm yeah super happy with her and tell me about tomorrow because you had some amazing race this season what do you expect and what do you think about Monza I think it's going to be a tight battle everybody's so so close out there so exciting for F1 you know we've all been waiting for this competition and knowing if you do a great job you got a chance of Victory so you know I'm I'm pretty pumped for for tomorrow get some nice pizza tonight to to fuel me up and a bit of extra a bit of extra weight so not too late tomorrow and hopefully uh we can fight for a good result looking for forward for it Well Done congratulations third position for George Russell with Mercedes Lando very well done pman fifth of his career London Oris pman in mon tell me talk me through your love for my friend yeah um thank you I mean another poll which is amazing so like uh like a said to have two cars first and or a first and second um when the field has been as tight as it has all weekend it's a little bit of a surprise but a nice one so uh big well done to the team done an amazing job uh honestly my lab was it hurts me to say it was not a great lab um my my Q3 run one was but run two was a little bit more and uh we're still getting enough for p so a littleit surprised again but um but very very happy congratulations for it seems that you are building up a fantastic moment for yourself you're racing so well you are always competitive your car is helping you what do you expect for tomorrow race yeah um the same really the same would be lovely but it like we've seen all weekend it's so close um there's a lot of very quick drivers behind and quick cars so I'm not expecting a a very easy race tomorrow um and like George said a lot of un uh unknown things going into the race with the degradation the tires the tarmac you know so um plenty of question marks and plenty of excitement I'm sure and then varant first CH here in mon scared me so much but I'm not London Oris but what do you think about that I mean it's it's always a little dancing you know on a qual lap especially you don't know how much to push uh but it's a fun one the whole circuit is amazing and um I'm looking forward to it tomorrow congratulation well done London or is pman with McLaren e e hear you he e e