2022 Italian Grand Prix - Final Starting Grid

The FIA has confirmed the much debated starting grid for Sunday's Italian Grand Prix.

The sheer number of engine-related grid demotions required the stewards to dig into the sporting rules on Saturday evening to build a proper grid.

But the effort has generated a lot of confusion among the fans and a need to review the rules for next season to make sure that an event's starting grid is aligned as much as possible with qualifying's pecking order.

However, the silver lining today is that the out-of-position starting order should guarantee fans some action-packed and thrilling opening laps as potentially faster drivers chase from behind while others - like McLaren's Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo and AlphaTauri's Pierre Gasly, not to mention Williams rookie Nyck de Vries - will be determined to hold their own.

As expected, championship leader Max Verstappen will launch his race from seventh - and not fourth as reported by many outlets - while Lewis Hamilton and Yuki Tsunoda will close out the starting order, with Ferrari's Carlos Sainz lining up just ahead in P18.

Check out hereunder the final starting grid for the 2022 Italian Grand Prix.

2022 Italian Grand Prix - Final starting grid

Pos	Driver	Team	Time	Session	Notes
1	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	1:20.161s	Q3
2	George Russell	Mercedes	1:21.542s	Q3
3	Lando Norris	McLaren	1:21.584s	Q3
4	Daniel Ricciardo	McLaren	1:21.925s	Q3
5	Pierre Gasly	AlphaTauri	1:22.648s	Q3
6	Fernando Alonso	Alpine	No time	Q3
7	Max Verstappen	Red Bull	1:20.306s	Q3	See [1]
8	Nyck de Vries	Williams	1:22.471s	Q2
9	Zhou Guanyu	Alfa Romeo	1:22.577s	Q2
10	Nicholas Latifi	Williams	1:22.587s	Q1
11	Sebastian Vettel	Aston Martin	1:22.636s	Q1
12	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin	1:22.748s	Q1
13	Sergio Pérez	Red Bull	1:21.206s	Q3	See [2]
14	Esteban Ocon	Alpine	1:22.130s	Q2	See [3]
15	Valtteri Bottas	Alfa Romeo	1:22.235s	Q2	See [4]
16	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	1:22.908s	Q1	See [5]
17	Mick Schumacher	Haas	1:23.005s	Q1	See [6]
18	Carlos Sainz	Ferrari	1:20.429s	Q3	See [7]
19	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1:21.524s	Q3	See [8]
20	Yuki Tsunoda	AlphaTauri	No time	Q2	See [9]

Notes
[1] 5 place grid penalty - engine components
[2] 10 place grid penalty - engine components
[3] 5 place grid penalty - engine components
[4] 15 place grid penalty - engine components
[5] 15 place grid penalty - engine components
[6] 15 place grid penalty - engine components
[7] 'Back of the grid' penalty - engine components
[8] 'Back of the grid' penalty - engine components
[9] 'Back of the grid' penalty - engine components