Monza is Formula 1’s fastest circuit. The Italian Grand Prix qualifying has decided who leads the grid into it. The Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, known as the “Temple of Speed,” has hosted this race since 1922. This weekend carries extra weight. Kimi Antonelli arrives as championship leader. However, a 30-place grid penalty means today’s result won’t reflect where he starts on the grid tomorrow.
George Russell and Lewis Hamilton trail him by 59 points. Both need a strong Italian Grand Prix qualifying to stay in the fight. Mercedes and Ferrari looked quickest in Friday practice. McLaren, fresh off back-to-back wins in Hungary and the Netherlands, still have work to do.
Pierre Gasly of Alpine topped the times to take a surprise pole position, with Mercedes’ George Russell alongside him on the front row. Oscar Piastri of McLaren completed the top three, keeping the gap tight at the top. The result sets up an intriguing tactical battle for Sunday’s race, with a long run down to Turn 1 sure to shake up the order.
Q1: Ferrari and Verstappen Trade Fastest Laps Before Gasly Takes It Away
Liam Lawson led the pack out first, in the Red Bull. The early laps in Q1 always answer one question first: who gets the tow, and who’s left in the wake. That question loomed largest over Ferrari, with Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton chasing the exact same advantage. With 22 cars on track, timing was everything — knowing who was ahead and who was behind decided the whole session.
Lawson set the first representative time, a 1:24.103 on mediums. The Ferrari pair went to work soon after. Leclerc briefly topped the times with a 1:22.995, before Hamilton snatched it back with a 1:22.847.
Lando Norris ran into trouble almost immediately.
“Something’s not right with the brakes.” — Lando Norris, McLaren driver, team radio
He abandoned his first flying lap. His second attempt was cleaner, putting him fifth with a 1:23.004.
Max Verstappen then went fastest of all, 0.216 seconds quicker than Hamilton. Behind him, Kimi Antonelli and Russell ran contrasting strategies — Antonelli on softs, Russell on mediums. Antonelli slotted into second with a 1:22.758, Russell just 0.021 seconds back.
Gasly went quickest of everyone with a 1:22.612. His teammate, Franco Colapinto, followed in third, only 0.050 seconds off the pace.
Further down the order, Oliver Bearman ran eighth to Esteban Ocon’s sixteenth — the gap explained partly by Bearman’s power unit upgrade, which Ocon doesn’t have. Lawson, back out on new softs, could only manage tenth, though he found a purple third sector along the way.
“I’ve got bad grip overall.” — Liam Lawson, Red Bull driver, team radio
With two minutes left, Fernando Alonso climbed out of his car from twentieth, his session already over.
Piastri butchered his flying lap with a minute and a half remaining. Norris made the most of what time was left, setting a purple second sector to move up to third, just 0.047 seconds off Gasly. Antonelli held onto fourth on his final push lap, with Arvid Lindblad fifth.
Further back, Nico Hülkenberg sat fourteenth, Ocon fifteenth, and Carlos Sainz sixteenth. Piastri’s final lap brought no improvement.
Yuki Tsunoda, Alex Albon, Valtteri Bottas, Sergio Perez, Alonso, and Lance Stroll were eliminated in seventeenth through twenty-second.
Q2: Antonelli Fastest As McLaren Incident Draws FIA Scrutiny
Red Bull rolled out first for Q2, with Verstappen and Lawson leading the pack, Sainz following close behind. Lawson towed Verstappen around the lap; Sainz, in turn, picked up a tow from Verstappen.
Verstappen set a 1:22.573, with Lawson right behind on a 1:22.828. Sainz followed with a 1:23.870, though he found a purple opening sector along the way.
Verstappen’s radio told a different story than his lap suggested.
“The car is broken on the rear axle again. It’s really undrivable in Turn 2, 4, and 5 again.” — Max Verstappen, Red Bull driver, team radio
Antonelli gives a slipstream to Russell and went top of the times — only for Russell to take it back, 0.173 seconds clear.
Gasly found a purple first sector and jumped to P1 almost immediately. Norris took it from him. Then Piastri took it from his own teammate, with just 0.050 seconds between the pair.
Further down, Bortoleto ran ninth, Colapinto seventh, and Lindblad sixth. Verstappen settled into fifth; Lawson sat down in thirteenth.
Hamilton, in eleventh and needing a clean lap, found one — enough to move up to tenth.
Piastri’s McLaren then impeded Lawson, a moment that looks like a straightforward penalty call. The FIA noted the incident. Piastri was also involved in a separate pit lane infringement alongside Hülkenberg, also noted, with no further investigation taken.
Lawson didn’t improve after that; the McLaren interference cost him more than a few tenths. Leclerc and Bearman also failed to find improvement on their final runs.
Antonelli ended the session fastest of all, a 1:21.882. Bortoleto missed the cut by just 0.001 seconds.
Eliminated in P11 through P16: Bortoleto, Bearman, Hülkenberg, Lawson, Sainz, and Ocon.
Q3: The End of Italian Grand Prix Qualifying
Mercedes led the way onto the track for Q3, with the McLarens following close behind. Hamilton went out last of all, likely delayed by an issue getting out of the garage.
Antonelli dropped back to give Russell a tow. Russell answered with a purple first sector, Norris and Piastri close behind. Piastri then found a purple second sector of his own.
Russell crossed the line in 1:21.929. Norris followed with a 1:22.256. Then Piastri went quicker still, a 1:21.966.
Gasly slotted in ahead of Norris for third. Verstappen and Leclerc also jumped him — Leclerc fourth, Verstappen fifth, Norris down to sixth. Hamilton sat eighth.
Russell’s radio told a harder story than his lap time suggested.
“Really struggling with the car, compared to FP3, just front locking and instability in high speed.” — George Russell, Mercedes driver, team radio
Antonelli, meanwhile, ran his lap completely alone, no tows or slipstreams, and still held sixth.
With two and a half minutes left, McLaren led the cars back out, followed by Mercedes, Lindblad, and Ferrari. The Alpines were last across the line.
Piastri’s final lap barely began before ending — he ran off at Turn 1. Norris started his own final lap in clear air, all alone, but couldn’t improve on seventh.
No driver found a single green sector across the whole lap except Hamilton and Gasly. Russell, though, found a purple second sector on his final run and improved his time.
Gasly took pole position — his first in F1. Hamilton climbed to fifth.
Top 10: Gasly, Russell, Piastri, Leclerc, Hamilton, Verstappen, Antonelli, Colapinto, Norris, Lindblad.