Lando Norris was busy apologising for a poor final lap in qualifying for the Italian Grand Prix when his McLaren race engineer managed to break in with the news that it had actually been good enough for pole.
Norris' best time of 1:19.327s saw him a tenth faster than team mate Oscar Piastri who will join him on tomorrow's front row in a McLaren 1-2. Mercedes' George Russell was just 0.004s behind Piastri in P3.
Ferrari duo Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz had to be satisfied with fourth and fifth ahead of Lewis Hamilton. But it was a horrible outcome for Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez who were a half a second off the top six.
Even though Mercedes had secured an impressive 1-2 lockout in final practice, the battle for pole for the Italian GP remained wide open. McLaren looked to have the fastest car on track, but an upgraded Ferrari was getting a big boost from the home Tifosi. And no one was counting out Red Bull despite a troubled weekend up to now with understeer. It was all to play for.
Q1: Norris in charge, Perez leaves it late as Colapinto misses the cut
First out on track was Sauber's Zhou Guanyu but it wasn't long before the majority of drivers joined him on soft tyres. A clean run saw Charles Leclerc take an early advantage with a time of 1:20.074s, but Carlos Sainz dipped a wheel into the gravel and had to abort.
Max Verstappen also had a bit of a scare on a scrappy lap but the Red Bull still checked into third place. Oscar Piastri similarly made an error on his run but it was plain sailing for Lando Norris who went top on 1:19.911s. Piastri soon put in clean second run for P4, although it was over half a second off Norris.
Mercedes were late to the party, but Russell was soon straight into fourth with Hamilton tucked in right behind. Sainz completed a second flying lap without incident to go third, but Sergio Perez was toiling and in the drop zone along with the Saubers of Zhou and Valtteri Bottas. The RBs of Daniel Ricciardo and Yuki Tsunoda were also at risk, along with Williams rookie Franco Colapinto.
Verstappen was heading out of pit lane for his final run of Q1 when McLaren released Piastri right into his path. There was better news for Perez whose final run propelled him into the safety of the top ten. Colapinto did his best to do the same but went into the gravel instead. Kevin Magnussen also strayed off to trigger brief local waved yellows, distracting others on their final runs.
Norris had stayed in the garage and remained on top from Leclerc, Piastri and Sainz. Those missing the cut were Tsunoda (pipped in the final seconds by Ricciardo who narrowly squeaked through), Lance Stroll, Franco Colapinto, and the luckless Sauber pair of Zhou and Bottas.
Q2: Hamilton ahead of Verstappen and Norris, Alonso and Ricciardo eliminated
The number of off-track misadventures during Q1 meant there was a delay starting the second round as marshals swept the circuit clean of gravel. The two Ferraris were first to complete laps, Leclerc achieving a time of 1:20.296s and Sainz just 0.032s behind, with Perez slotting into third.
Verstappen then went top but his moment in the sun was short-lived before the McLarens stormed the ramparts. Norris was quickest on 1:19.727s, 0.081s quicker than Piastri. All eyes now were on the Mercedes response: Russell popped into fourth but Hamilton was quickest of all on 1:19.641s. Sainz improved to third to divide the McLarens, but Leclerc stayed in seventh despite improving his time. Williams' Alex Albon was hanging in there in the final transfer spot while those staring elimination in the face were Fernando Alonso, Kevin Magnussen, Alpine pair Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon, and Daniel Ricciardo.
There were some half hearted efforts by drivers to find or bestow a tow but they either broke up or failed to deliver significant gains. Having complained of understeer on his previous run, Verstappen surged into P2 behind Hamilton. Further back, Ricciardo and Alonso also improved but still fell short of the cut, along with Magnussen, Gasly and Ocon. Albon had managed to dig in and find more time to go ninth leaving Hulkenberg through.
Q3: Norris pulls off pole as Red Bull slump to worst qualifying of the season
The final top ten pole shootout saw Albon and Hulkenberg make early starts on used soft tyres while Verstappen was on the receiving end of another borderline unsafe release. This time it was Sainz being released from the Ferrari pit box.
The initial laps saw teams running two-by-two Norris top with a time of 1:19.401s, 0.035 ahead of Piastri, followed by Russell and Hamilton, then Sainz and Leclerc, and finally Perez and Verstappen. The Dutch driver had a huge snap on his lap and subsequently declared it "shocking" over the team radio.
After a brief pause, Perez was first back out followed by Verstappen. Norris was out ahead of Piastri, Sainz led Leclerc and Russell was in front of Hamilton. Unfortunately for Verstappen, Perez stepped into the gravel at the second Lesmo kicking up some dust, dooming both Bulls to the fourth row.
Ferrari were flying, as was Russell, but McLarens was on full burn. For a moment no one was quite sure who had finished where: Norris was busy apologising to the team for not delivering - "My bad" - only to be told by race engineer Will Joseph that 1:19.327s had actually been good enough for pole. "Oh. Cool," was Lando's sceptical response.
Norris was a tenth ahead of Piastri, with Russell 0.004s behind in third to pip the Ferraris of Leclerc and Sainz. Hamilton was disappointed to end up in sixth, but that was still half a second ahead of the dismal Red Bulls.
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