Monza Sprint: Bottas first, Max Pole
Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas had a clean start and won the Monza Sprint comfortably. Max will get the Pole though and Lewis will be starting P4.
Bottas however has engine penalty and thus will be starting from the back of the grid. He will get 3 points though and seemed to have accepted the situation.
Monza Pole for Max
Max Verstappen, starting from P3, had a great start and was able to jump Lewis and get behind Bottas. However he just could not catch up with the Finnish driver, Mercedes clearly having better pace than the Red Bulls and others. Max would still be happy as he will be starting from Pole tomorrow and he took 2 points too.
Horrible start for Lewis
Lewis had a nightmare start as his tires slipped and he fell behind. He started P2 but by the end of first lap he was in P5 position. Throughout the race he was behind Lando but was unable to overtake him. Lewis neither scored points nor is he starting from the front. He is naturally disappointed.
Great day for McLaren boys
Both the McLarens had a good Quali session with Lando in P4 and Daniel P5. However things turned out to be even better as the Sprint started. Daniel was able to jump two positions, overtaking Lewis team-mate Lando and staying in the P3 position for the rest of the race. Given the penalty to Bottas, Daniel will be starting from P2, the front row of the grid, after a very very long time. He was visibly happy.
Lando would be happy with the result too. He drove brilliantly, keep the charging Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton at bay for the entire Sprint Race. He will be starting P3 tomorrow.
Disaster for Gasly
Gasly, the last year’s Monza winner and someone who is having a great 2021 season ran out of luck. A slight touch with the McLaren broke his front wing and he ended up crashing in the barriers. He will be starting from the back of the grid too and hoping to make places quickly.
Ferrari boys would be fairly happy as both Charles and Carlos will be starting P5 and P6 tomorrow. They will be happy if they can maintain these positions in front of tifosi.
Perez had another day to forget. He started from P9, slipped to P10 and then regained P9. However he was unable to move any further, something that Red Bull would have surely hoped for. Meanwhile Antonio Giovinazzi had another very good performance, keeping the Red Bull of Checo behind him and making a strong case for the second Alfa Romeo seat.
Here is the full starting lineup for the 2021 Italian Grand Prix at Monza with Max at Pole
Starting Lineup
1st – Max Verstappen
2nd – Daniel Ricciardo
3rd – Lando Norris
4th – Lewis Hamilton
5th – Charles Leclerc
6th – Carlos Sainz Jr.
7th – Antonio Giovinazzi
8th – Sergio Perez
9th – Lance Stroll
10th – Fernando Alonso
11th – Sebastian Vettel
12th – Esteban Ocon
13th – Nicholas Latifi
14th – George Russell
15th – Yuki Tsunoda
16th – Nikita Mazepin
17th – Robert Kubica
18th – Mick Schumacher
19th – Pierre Gasly
20th – Valtteri Bottas