Sainz stuns Verstappen to claim pole at electric Monza qualifying
Sainz's stunning last-gasp effort in qualifying at the 2023 Italian Grand Prix saw him clinch his maiden F1 pole position, pipping title favorite Verstappen to give Ferrari a front-row lockout at their home race.
In a thrilling qualifying session at the Temple of Speed, Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz pulled off a stunning final lap to clinch his first ever Formula 1 pole position at the 2023 Italian Grand Prix.
The Spaniard set a scintillating time of 1:20.294 right at the death to pip championship leader Max Verstappen by just 0.145s in front of Ferrari’s adoring tifosi at Monza.
Sainz’s teammate Charles Leclerc had to settle for P3, ending up 0.268s off his compatriot after looking on provisional pole before being usurped.
Run per the Alternative Tyre Allocation rules, Q1 saw the Ferraris immediately on the pace on hard tyres along with Verstappen’s Red Bull, while Alpine’s difficult Saturday continued with Ocon going off into the gravel.
Into Q2, Sainz again set the standard ahead of Leclerc before Verstappen went quickest, with Lawson impressing on debut by making it through to Q2.
The final shootout saw Leclerc lay down the gauntlet with a stunning 1:20.161, but Sainz’s incredible last-gasp effort shattered that, proving that Ferrari had the legs over Red Bull here.
“This feels amazingly good,” said an elated Sainz. “We executed a very good lap on the last run. It was incredibly close with Max but I managed to put together a clean lap and got pole position.”
Verstappen graciously accepted defeat, saying, “On the last lap I just didn’t have the grip. But it’s still a long race tomorrow and we have a quick race car.”
Mercedes’ Russell and Hamilton will line up just behind the Red Bulls tomorrow, while home hero Alonso rounded out the top ten for Alpine.
All eyes will now turn to Sunday’s Grand Prix, where Ferrari will be hoping they can convert front-row starts into a victory at their beloved Monza.
Italian Gran Prix Qualifying Results
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