Qualifying Report - What a mess

Ferrari hero Charles Leclerc took the pole for the Italian Grand Prix in a farcical qualifying session in which nine drivers slowly jockeyed for position moments before the checkered flag. "There was a big mess," Leclerc said.

The stewards agreed and announced they would investigate the last lap antics by the drivers which resulted in only Carlos Sainz and possibly Leclerc making it around in time to do one more fast lap before the session ended.

By Dan Knutson in Monza

The line-up for the weekend was: Mercedes - Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas; Ferrari - Sebastian Vettel and Leclerc; Red Bull TAG Heuer -Max Verstappen and Alexander Albon; Renault - Daniel Ricciardo and Nico Hulkenberg; Haas Ferrari - Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen; McLaren Renault - Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris; Racing Point Mercedes - Sergio Perez and Lance Stroll; Alfa Romeo Ferrari - Kimi Raikkonen and Antonio Giovinazzi; Toro Rosso Honda - Daniil Kvyat and Pierre Gasly; Williams Mercedes - George Russell and Robert Kubica.

Vettel was the best in FP3 earlier in the day with a time of 1:20.294.

Several drivers would be getting grid penalties for having new power unit components: Verstappen, Norris and Gasly.

QUALIFYING 1

Trying to get a tow in the slipstream of another car would definitely help a driver get a faster lap time. Furthermore, at Spa the drivers went slow to try find an optimum open slot on the track. The FIA's race director Michael Masi issued a warning that drivers had to keep a minimum speed during their out laps - this was to prevent them trundling around waiting for a car to pass them and then latching on to that car.

Masi also warned the drivers that if they exceeded track limits then that lap time would be deleted. This happened to a number of drivers in FP3 who ran wide at Turn 11 - the Curva Grande.

As usual, Q1 lasted 18 minutes.

The ambient temperature at the start of the session was 72 degrees Fahrenheit (22 degrees Centigrade) and the track temperature was 97 degrees Fahrenheit (36 degrees Centigrade).

Hulkenberg took the lead with a 1:20.155. Bottas slid into second and Hamilton third. Then Leclerc put in a 1:20.126. So the order was Leclerc, Hulkenberg, Bottas, Hamilton, Ricciardo and Vettel.

The session was red flagged with just under five minutes remaining. Perez had stopped at Turn 3.

At the time, Magnussen was 15th and on the bubble, with Stroll 14th and Grosjean 16th.

Once things got going again, Verstappen radioed that he had no power. There were some final movements, but order at the top stayed the same.

The five drivers who were eliminated at the end of Q1 were: Grosjean, Perez, Russell, Kubica and Verstappen.

The fastest 15 drivers who moved on to Q2 were: Leclerc, Hulkenberg, Bottas, Hamilton, Ricciardo, Vettel, Albon, Sainz, Gasly, Magnussen, Raikkonen, Stroll, Norris, Giovinazzi and Kvyat.

QUALIFYING 2

Kvyat was the first out in Q2 which would run for 15 minutes. Soon everybody but Gasly was out and running.

Hamilton clocked a 1:19.706, but Leclerc beat that at 1:19.553. Vettel grabbed fourth ahead of Ricciardo, Bottas, Albon, Hulkenberg and Sainz.

Tenth and on the cutoff line for Q3 with six minutes remaining was Kvyat. Magnussen was ninth and Stroll was 11th.

All the drivers were in the pits preparing for their last runs with under four minutes to go. Then, with two minutes and 15 seconds to go, all 15 drivers headed out.

Hamilton's 1:19.464 gave him the lead spot ahead of Leclerc, Vettel, Ricciardo, Bottas, Albon, Sainz, Hulkenberg, Stroll and Raikkonen.

The five drivers who were eliminated at the end of Q2 were: Giovinazzi, Magnussen, Kvyat, Norris and Gasly.

QUALIFYING 3

Q3 lasted 12 minutes. The Mercedes drivers headed out first but stopped at pit exit, so the Ferraris were on track before their main opposition.

Vettel clocked a 1:19.457. But Leclerc beat that at 1:19.307. And Hamilton slipped into second with a 1:19.346.

Then Raikkonen crashed backwards into the barriers at Turn 2, and the session was red flagged with six minutes and 35 seconds remaining.

The order among those who had set times was: Leclerc, Hamilton, Vettel, Ricciardo, Hulkenberg and Sainz. Bottas was on a very fast lap, but it was ruined by the red flags. However, the officials reinstated his time and put Bottas into third.

After an 11-minute delay to clear away the Alfa, Q1 was restarted. The drivers waited in the garages. This was going to be another last few minutes dash around the clock.

Hulkenberg was the first to budge. All nine drivers were bunched up together. They jockeyed back and forth. And they all missed the checkered flag except Sainz and Leclerc.

The top 10 qualifiers were: Leclerc, Hamilton, Bottas, Vettel, Ricciardo, Hulkenberg, Sainz, Albon, Stroll and Raikkonen.

"I have to be grateful we're on the front row, to have a fight with the Ferraris," Hamilton said. "It's a bit of an anti-climax, but we just timed out. It's definitely a risky business out there, but fun at the same time."