Monza Quali: Bottas P1, Merc 1-2
The outgoing Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas snatched the Pole position at the Monza Quali. Lewis Hamilton came P2, so a Mercedes front row lockout for the Sprint. Championship leader Max Verstappen is P3.
Bottas snatches Pole at the Monza Quali
It must be noted that Monza has the Sprint race format i.e. Quali on Friday which decides the grid for Sprint race on Saturday, which will then decide the grid for the main race.
At the temple of speed the flying Finn Bottas steamed ahead and got P1, despite being ahead of his team-mate Lewis Hamilton and not getting the tow from him. Lewis failed to stitch together that perfect lap and was just 0.096s behind Bottas. Mercedes was already looking very good in FP1 and they will have a front row lockout.
It must be noted though that Bottas will be taking a penalty for getting a new Power unit and will be starting from the back of the grid in the main Race.
Tough day for Red Bull
Historically the high speed Monza circuit has not suited Red Bull and it was the case this time too. Max Verstappen pushed hard and got a good tow from Checo but he couldn’t surpass the two Mercs. He will be starting P3 in the Sprint Race. Checo had yet another lackluster performance, coming in at P9. He will be hoping to make up places in the Sprint.
Both McLaren and both Ferrari in Q3
McLaren with their Mercedes engine showed impressive pace. Lando stitched a nice lap together and will be starting P4. McLaren would be very happy to see Daniel finally getting to know the MCL35 well and showing consistent good result. He will be starting P5.
Monza is the home ground for Ferrari. Unlike last year this time the tifosi will come out in huge numbers at the track and they will be expecting strong performance from the Prancing Horse. A victory like 2019 is unlikely but there are some reasons to be happy about. Both the Ferrari drivers pushed their cars to the limit and managed to get into Q3, with Carlos in P7 and Charles in P8. Expect them to do well in the Sprint and Main Race.
Gasly, Mr. Consistent
Gasly has been very very consistent in all the races this year and Monza is no exception. He drove very well and managed to be P6, a place where one does not expect Alpha Tauri to be. Contrast that with his rookie team-mate Yuki Tsunoda who couldn’t even get out of Q1. Both of them have fresh contracts for 2022 though.
Antonio Giovinazzi had a very good performance again at his home race. He managed to get into Q3, back to back, making a strong case for the second seat at AlfaRomeo for 2022.
Traffic chaos at Monza, again
Monza being a high-speed circuit, everyone is looking for a tow. This leads to unnecessary traffic and can be dangerous at times. Cars were jostling for space on the race-track as well as in the pit-lane. Both Aston Martin and Alpine have been fined 5000 euros for unsafe release in the pit-lane. FIA needs to find some solution for this chaos.
Monza Quali : Bottas leading the way
