Charles Leclerc takes farcical Monza pole

Italian GP

Leclerc takes farcical Monza pole

Ridiculous scenes in Q3!

Matthew Scott

Saturday 7 September 2019 16:15 Updated: 17:12

Charles Leclerc took pole position for the Italian Grand Prix in ludicrous circumstances as eight drivers failed to make the start line at the ed of Q3.

With the slipstream such a factor at Monza, the cars were bunched within a few dozen metres on the final out lap in Q3.

Given everyone's desire not to run first, without a tow, only Carlo Sainz and Leclerc made it across the line, the McLaren man going seventh quickest.

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The FIA immediately announced that the incident would be investigated, with 19 Formula 3 drivers having been given grid penalties for similarly stupid scenes on Friday.

Leclerc took pole by dint of having set the pace on the first run in Q3, ahead of the Mercedes pair. Lewis Hamilton was quick to point the finger, suggesting Ferrari might have intended to cause the chaotic scenes by "timing out" the rest of the field.

Sebastian Vettel was fourth-fastest, having towed Leclerc in the first part of the session, while Daniel Ricciardo and Nico Hulkenberg were fifth and sixth.

Alexander Albon and Lance Stroll were marooned in eighth and ninth having failed to set a time on the first runs, as Kimi Raikkonen's crash brought out red flags.

Q2

Antonio Giovinazzi missed out on a spot in Q3 by 0.002 seconds to team-mate Kimi Raikkonen. Toro Rosso messed up their towing tactics as Daniil Kvyat dropped out along with the penalised Pierre Gasly. Kevin Magnussen narrowly missed out, while Lando Norris dropped away, also set to start at the back.

Q1

Sergio Perez suffered yet another mechanical issue after last week's failure from the new Mercedes power unit. Verstappen also reported issues with his new Honda engine. Romain Grosjean joined the Williams pair in going out along with them.