This weekend it was time for the round 14 -the legendary Italian GP. Q1 saw different tyre strategies. Quite unexpectedly the Ferraris came out on the yellow-marked soft Pirellis, whilst the Silver Arrows opted for the super soft compound. Hamilton was supreme from the very beginning of the qualifying, no matter which tyre compound he was on. The Ferraris were a bit over a second down on Hamilton after the first runs. However, there was no need for a second run. Also both Red Bulls and Bottas in his Williams decided to sit out the second runs. Once again Toro Rosso´s Kvyat was bumped out of Q2, whereas teammate Sainz made it 13th in the first session. Out of Q2 were also both Saubers and both Renault drivers, as well as Manor´s Ocon, who faced a technical failure and did not record a time.
In Q2 the Mercedes of Hamilton and Rosberg headed out on the soft Pirellis; once again Hamilton was stamping his authority all over the ´Temple of Speed´. Red Bull tried Mercedes´ strategy, but setting a lap time competitive enough on the soft tyres was mission impossible for the Red Bull duo; Verstappen and Ricciardo had to made their second runs on the super soft tyres. After the first attempts Sebastian was 3rd and Williams´ Bottas 4th and they were the only drivers to sit out the second runs. The gap between Mercedes and Ferrari turned out quite significant -7 tenths in Q2. However, it was great to see, that Ferrari was back at being Mercedes´ number one challenger on Italian soil! Red Bull seemed to be struggling with their pace on the long straights of Monza. Haas´ Gutierrez was a great seventh -opposite to his teammate Grosjean, who was eliminated from Q3 and will thus suffer a 5-place grid penalty for an unscheduled gearbox change. Williams´ Massa was the first faller in Q2; a very disappointing result for the experienced Brazilian, who will retire from F1 after this season. Out of the last segment were also both McLarens, Manor´s Wehrlein and Toro Rosso´s Sainz.
Q3 turned out very predictable -Hamilton took provisional pole and had absolutely no intension to let it slip through his fingers. After the first runs Rosberg was second -three tenths off his teammate´s pace. Kimi was third and teammate Sebastian fourth -the only drivers to get within a second of the rapid Silver Arrows. Hamilton managed to improve his lap time on his second flyer -and ended up seeing off teammate Rosberg by nearly half a second! It was the world champion´s third successive pole in Italy and his seventh of the season. The Briton now has historical 5 poles at the ´Temple of Speed´, which means Hamilton now equals the pole record with the legendary drivers Juan Manuel Fangio and Ayrton Senna. Sebastian finally aced teammate Iceman by a tenth of a second, the Ferrari duo locking out the second row for the Italian-based team. Williams´ Bottas was an impressive fifth, the Finn being only a thousandth of a second faster than Red Bull ace Ricciardo. Teammate Verstappen had to settle for P7. Force India´s Perez qualified 8th, with teammate Hulkenberg 9th. Gutierrez in his Haas rounded out the top ten.
Mercedes have two advantages tomorrow -in terms of both tyres and pace. Hamilton and Rosberg are the only top ten drivers to start to the race on the more durable soft rubber, whereas everyone else is forced to start on the super soft Pirellis. We´ll see, if the tyre compound plays any role at the start. Of course I´m hoping, that the red-suited drivers both get a stunning start and they will storm into the double lead past the Silver Arrows! Unfortunately though, Mercedes´ pace is totally in a class of their own... But I´m sure the passionate tifosi will give the Ferrari aces an extra boost for the race! A friend of mine will also be watching the race live at Monza, and I´m sure she´ll have a time of her life! Just wishing I will get a chance to go there one day as well...
I´m also eagerly waiting for, whether Kimi and Max will again find each other on track tomorrow! Just wondering, whether there will be more heated fuss about this young Dutchman´s driving... Victory for Ferrari would be a dream come true in front of the tifosi!
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