Norris leads Piastri to tight McLaren front-row lockout in Monza

Claiming his first back-to-back pole position of his career, Lando Norris led Oscar Piastri to a tight McLaren front-row lockout at the Italian Grand Prix.

But before the sea of red had been washed out by the Papaya challengers, there were four teams in with a genuine chance at securing pole position…

Qualifying 1:

The fight for front-row glory at the Italian Grand Prix ignited as the green light turned green to start a boiling Q1 session.

Exiting the pitlane in a relaxed manner, Daniel Ricciardo’s subpar opening lap amped up the pressure for the Australian.

Recording a 1:21.059s, Ricciardo sat as the driver at risk, just two milliseconds ahead of Franco Colapinto.

As the session came to a close, the #3 improved on his time, however, not his position, making for an anxious wait as he strived to beat the driver in P16.

His time of 1:20.901s did so, knocking out Yuki Tsunoda who described the car as “weak” after being told to “keep it clean on the radio”.

It wasn’t a smooth start to Oscar Piastri’s qualifying campaign with the Australian locking up at the first chicane, however, avoiding any major flat spots on his soft tyres as he aborted the lap.

On his next run around the circuit, the McLaren driver secured a solid 1:20.488s, giving him comfort as he returned to the pitlane.

The 23-year-old was noted for an unsafe release as he set off for a final attempt, charging into Max Verstappen’s pathway after being exonerated from his impeding incident in FP3.

Unaffected by the moment, the Australian sped away to end Q1 in P3.

Forced to take a cautious approach with tyres due to the 50°C track temperature and the advantage track evolution, the usual pitlane hustle and bustle at the start of the session was non-existent for the rest of the field in Monza. 

Calmly rolling out of the pitlane, those predicting an at-risk final position were the first to occupy the 5.9km circuit.

Not so calmly sending the Tifosi into a frenzy, Ferrari was the first pole contender to join the session, raising heart rates even more after Charles Leclerc shot to the top of the order and Carlos Sainz avoided a potentially session-ending shunt at the Lesmos. 

McLaren then showed its prowess with Lando Norris who was joined in the top four by a representative from Ferrari, Red Bull and Mercedes. 

The #4 ultimately ended the session on top, with Leclerc and Piastri for company. 

As a lull fell over the Autodromo Nazionale Monza, Colapinto, Yuki Tsunoda, Valtteri Bottas, Sergio Perez and Zhou Guanyu found themselves in the elimination zone, with the Red Bull driver needing to find at least four-tenths to reach the predicted cut-off time.

Setting off to save their weekends, the bottom five had just one lap to move beyond P16.

The Mexican was the only driver who managed to do so, trading places with Lance Stroll after Kevin Magnussen’s decaying car caused a disturbance and brought out yellow flags at the final corner. 

As for Colapinto, the rookie ended up with two wheels in the gravel as he launched his run down to the Ascari chicane, kicking up rocks into Magnussen’s path prior to his breakdown.

Despite trundling back to the pitlane, Magnussen advanced through to Q2, aided by the delay to the second session. 

Kevin Magnussen, Haas VF-24, in the gravel during qualifying at the Italian GP. Image: Zak Mauger / LAT Images.

Qualifying 2:

Needing as many chances as possible, an optimistic place in Q3 was the only thing on Ricciardo’s mind as he headed out onto the Autodromo Nazionale Monza.

Wringing out his VCARB 01, a 1:21.273s lap was all that his scrubbed tyres could manage, placing him at the back of the pack and four-tenths behind his closest rival.

From there, Ricciardo retreated to the pitlane, only exiting for his final Q2 attempt with three minutes on the clock.

Setting three personal best sectors, Ricciardo’s lap was only quick enough for a temporary P11, 19 milliseconds beyond the safety zone.

His 1:20.479s ultimately dragged him down to P12, with Alonso the only driver able to demote him in the dying stages of the session.

As a result, the #14 and #3 will line up on Row 6 for Sunday’s Italian Grand Prix.

Overly eager to contend for a place in the top ten shootout, Piastri made his teammate the next victim of his pitlane antics, rushing out ahead of Norris to start Q2.

Sent out on a fresh set of soft tyres, Piastri and his teammate dominated the first attempts as they momentarily claimed P1 and P2 with purple sectors divided among themselves. 

On his final attempt, Piastri was early to leave his garage, leading a last-lap charge that ultimately held no substance for the McLaren driver who was able to rely on his original time of 1:19.808s to advance.

Dictating their own session, Ferrari was once again the first front-running team to react to the green light, with Sainz leading the way. 

Running on a used set of soft tyres, the Ferrari drivers’ opening times weren’t competitive in the long run.

After being demoted by McLaren, Mercedes and Verstappen, Ferrari then put on a fresh set of the red-marked compound.

That choice rewarded Sainz with the fastest Sector 1, however, he was let down in the final sector to sit in P3. 

That run was far better than Leclerc’s, with the 2019 Italian Grand Prix winner only managing the seventh-fastest time before saying the “car [was] not turning at all”.

Ahead, Lewis Hamilton set the pace, demoting Q1’s fastest man before retreating to the pitlane.

Halfway through Q2, a lull consumed the circuit, with Fernando Alonso, Magnussen, Pierre Gasly, Esteban Ocon and Ricciardo the drivers with the toughest task ahead of them. 

The front runners, although joining the final stage of Q2, didn’t lock in an additional lap on the basis of not needing to, instead watching on as Alonso, Ricciardo, Magnussen, and the Alpines were eliminated. 

Twelfth qualifier Daniel Ricciardo in the garage after qualifying at the Italian Grand Prix. Image: Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool.

Qualifying 3:

Coasting down to the first chicane, Piastri led his teammate out of the pitlane to commence a tight deciding Q3 session. 

Putting together a proud 1:19.436s, Piastri secured his place in P2 with a purple middle sector drawing him just three-hundredths behind Lando Norris.

The usual last-lap Monza chaos was much tamer this year, with drivers setting off at calmer intervals. 

Despite this, the expected rewards weren’t reaped as Piastri recorded yellow sector after yellow sector. 

As a result, the Australian didn’t improve ahead of his pole-securing teammate but thankfully held onto second place, forming the back half of McLaren’s Italian front-row lockout.

But while the drama unfolded beyond the pit exit line, Max Verstappen was again forced to slam on his brakes in the slow lane after Charles Leclerc whipped his Ferrari out of the garage to start the session.

His stress translated to an on-track result, with his new tyres and a moment through Parabolica leaving him down in P8, behind Perez and close to seven-tenths behind provisional pole.

Ferrari were also dealt a disappointing first run, with both drivers three-tenths behind Norris’ provisional pole time of 1:19.401s, with Piastri and the Mercedes duo also in their way as they paused in their garages.

With three minutes on the clock, the track reignited for one final run to pole.

A subpar first sector ruled Verstappen out of contention for the top spot, with his teammate also running wide further down the road. 

Yellow sectors flooded the timing sheets, however, with Norris and Piastri’s final laps riddled with anything but improvements. 

The #4 did manage to shave a few hundredths off his lap as he crossed the line, further cementing his place in P1 as the competition fell short. 

Last year’s pole-man Sainz showed some promising signs, going purple in Sector 1 and completing a lap of personal bests, however, it missed the mark by over a tenth.

The Spaniard lost out to his teammate by six milliseconds, seeing Ferrari slotting into P4 and P5 for their home race. 

Edging ahead of the prancing horses, Russell boosted his Mercedes into the top three, however, at a decent deficit to the Papaya front-row lockout. 

His teammate will line up alongside Sainz on Row 3, beating out the struggling Red Bulls who finished their Saturday running in P7 and P8. 

Having a quiet Q3, Alex Albon and Nico Hulkenberg rounded out the top ten. 

Guaranteed to most definitely not be a quiet one, lights out for the Italian Grand Prix will take place at 11:00 PM on Sunday, with the levelled field ready to put on a show for the passionate Tifosi. 

Image: Simon Galloway / LAT Images

Italian Grand Prix Qualifying Results:

2024 Italian Grand Prix Schedule:

Friday, August 30th:

FP1: 21:30 – 22:30

Saturday, August 31st:

FP2: 01:00 – 02:00

FP3: 20:30 – 21:30

Sunday, September 1st:

Qualifying: 00:00 – 01:00

Race: 23:00

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