Italian GP / Qualifying: Mercedes still the team to beat, with or without party mode!

From Belgium the F1 caravan moved to sunny and hot Italy, the home soil of the Red Team. The Temple of Speed wasn't expected to suit the Scuderia too well, so I didn't have high expectations for the qualifying.

The midfield teams, which unfortunately currently include Ferrari, came out first in Q1. Charles went fastest, but his lap time was deleted due to exceeding the track limits at Parabolica. This made Sebastian on top but  for a fleeting moment only. Surprisingly, Q1 saw both Mercedes drivers come out on medium Pirellis. In spite of the harder rubber, they were absolutely flying. Hamilton set the benchmark by 0.25s to his teammate. Perez in his pink Racing Point was third and Sainz in his McLaren was fourth. Red Bull were struggling with their straight line speed quite badly, and Verstappen was only in P7 after his first run. Charles wasn't the only driver to exceed the track limits at Turn 11; also AlphaTauri's Gasly had his lap time deleted for the same reason. Charles made it P11 on his second run. As there were six minutes left in the clock, Sebastian was in desperate P17, so the things didn't look good at all for the German. Albon in his RB16 had it difficult as well. The Thai driver had his lap time deleted as well, and he was only barely in safety in P15. There was a ridiculous traffic jam on track during the last three minutes,  when everyone tried to find the right track position to benefit from the tow. Renault's Ocon was clearly impeding Kimi, whose last flyer was ruined due to the Frenchman. Luckily Kimi was in P14 already, so Ocon's manoeuvre didn't jeopardise Kimi's Q2 entrance. At the closing stages of Q1, Gasly jumped fifth in his AlphaTauri. Cruel but true, Sebastian was out of Q2 for real! 0.047s separated the struggling German from the second session. P17 on the grid definitely wasn't where the tifosi wanted to see Sebastian on their home turf! Alongside with Sebastian, also Haas' Grosjean, Alfa Romeo's Giovinazzi and the Williams duo of Russell and Latifi were knocked out of Q2.

It hit me as a surprise, that everyone opted for soft Pirellis in Q2, even the Silver Arrows. Mercedes' pace was in a league of their own, so dominant, that they didn't even need to use slip stream to put together a staggering lap fime. Verstappen, on the other hand, followed Hamilton very closely to benefit from the tow. Once again it was Hamilton, who set the benchmark. Bottas was three tenths down on his storming teammate, and Perez in third was six tenths off the pace already. Sainz was fourth, only five thousandths of a second down on the Mexican. Verstappen was fifth, whilst his teammate Albon was only in poor P10. Bottas nailed it on his second run, making it on top of the standings. Hamilton was a tenth down, with Sainz third and Perez fourth. Albon was the last driver to make it into Q3. Kvyat, on the other hand, was the first driver to be excluded from the final session, accompanied by Renault's Ocon, Charles in his SF1000, Kimi in his Alfa Romeo and Haas' Magnussen. 

At Monza a new technical regulation was introduced in terms of engine maps used in qualifying. This made Mercedes' famous "party mode" prohibited from now on. This, however, proved to have no impact whatsoever on Mercedes' dominance in terms of one-lap pace! Hamilton took provisional pole by 0.053s to his Finnish teammate. Perez in third was six tenths down and Verstappen in fourth was seven tenths down. Once again Albon's lap time was deleted due to not respecting the track limits at Parabolica. A bit unexpectedly, Mercedes rushed out for their second runs with still five minutes in the clock. Others rushed to follow the leading team. Bottas managed to make it on top by a tenth of a second, but Hamilton was running from behind frighteningly fast. The battle between the teammates was tense, but again Hamilton got the upper hand. The pole was the Briton's but by 0.069s only. This was the unbelievable 94th pole for the dominant Briton. It was a welcomed change to see Sainz in P3 and Perez in P4. At the Temple of Speed Verstappen had to settle for row three and P5. Sainz's teammate Norris made it alongside the Dutchman. Renault's Ricciardo and Racing Point's Stroll locked down the fourth row, with Albon and Gasly rounding out the top ten.

What to expect from tomorrow's race? Nothing but a sweeping victory for either one of the Mercedes aces, presumably for Hamilton. There might be a battle for the lowest step of the podium, but let's see. Unfortunately that battle won't include the red-suited drivers, that's pretty sure. A non-Mercedes victory would be so welcomed for a change! In spite of the poor starting point to the race, I always believe in Sebastian! Forza Ferrari!