Hamilton left stunned by Verstappen pace
Hamilton left stunned by Verstappen pace
Lewis Hamilton was left stunned at seeing Max Verstappen deliver a rare Italian Grand Prix qualifying performance ahead of F1's second sprint race of the season.
On a Mercedes track that benefits its top speed, Hamilton appeared comfortably on course for pole after finishing quickest in Q1 and Q2, with Verstappen and Red Bull left trailing.
Red Bull had never previously qualified inside the top four at Monza in the turbo-hybrid era, but on the first lap in Q3, a Honda train saw AlphaTauri's Pierre Gasly tow Verstappen's team-mate Sergio Perez, with the Dutch driver pulled along behind.
That propelled Verstappen to within 0.017s of Hamilton, who was also quickest on the first lap in the session, and although failing to improve, the championship leader will start from third on the grid.
The added bonus for Verstappen is that Bottas pinched pole from Hamilton by just 0.096s with the second Q3 lap, while Mercedes has also decided to take engine penalties for the Finn with a power unit change that will be applied for Sunday's grand prix.
"I don't know where they [Red Bull] pulled out their pace," said Hamilton.
"They were miles off in [qualifying sessions] one and two but all of a sudden they were right up there with us, so it just shows it's super close."
Despite his performance, Hamilton claimed it was "not the best qualifyings from me", but declared himself happy for Bottas who will leave Mercedes at the end of the year for Alfa Romeo, with George Russell stepping in.
Hamilton added: "Congratulations to Valtteri, mega lap! It was looking pretty good from my side up until the end, just he went quicker and I couldn't match it, so well deserved.
"Q1 was really good for me, but for whatever reason, I then just struggled.
"Still, on the front row. It's great to have a front-row lockout for the team, that's great, particularly with the news last week, it's great to see Valtteri driving so well."
With three points for a sprint win, Hamilton knows it is crucial he claims the victory to close the three-point gap to Verstappen in the drivers' standings.
"We've lost a championship by one point, you know how that goes," said Hamilton, referring to his loss with McLaren in his debut year in 2007.
"There's been a lot of points lost this year on both sides, so every point counts, but these sprint races definitely can add and help so we have to try and capitalise on that."
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F1 Standings
Drivers
- Oliver Bearman
- Charles Leclerc
- Carlos Sainz
- Lando Norris
- Oscar Piastri
- Pierre Gasly
- Esteban Ocon
- Sergio Pérez
- Max Verstappen
- Alexander Albon
- Logan Sargeant
- Lewis Hamilton
- George Russell
- Nico Hülkenberg
- Kevin Magnussen
- Fernando Alonso
- Lance Stroll
- Valtteri Bottas
- Zhou Guanyu
- Daniel Ricciardo
- Yuki Tsunoda
Races
- Gulf Air Grand Prix of Bahrain 2024
- Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Australia 2024
- MSC Cruises Grand Prix of Japan 2024
- Grand Prix of China 2024
- Miami Grand Prix 2024
- Gran Premio dell'Emilia Romagna 2024
- Grand Prix of Monaco 2024
- Grand Prix du Canada 2024
- Gran Premio de España 2024
- Grand Prix of Austria 2024
- Grand Prix of Great Britain 2024
- Grand Prix of Hungary 2024
- Grand Prix of Belgium 2024
- Heineken Dutch Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Italy 2024
- Grand Prix of Azerbaijan 2024
- Grand Prix of Singapore 2024
- Grand Prix of the United States 2024
- Gran Premio de la Ciudad de Mexico 2024
- Grande Prêmio de São Paulo 2024
- Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix 2024
- Qatar Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi 2024
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