Max Verstappen was favourite for pole position as always, but Ferrari were hopeful of a very popular result at their home race after Carlos Sainz showed great pace in practice
Carlos Sainz upset Max Verstappen to take Italian Grand Prix pole and send the Monza crowd into hysterics â and avoided a penalty despite an investigation from the Formula 1 stewards.
Ferrari showed great pace in practice with Sainz topping the timesheets in two of the three sessions. And the Scuderia repeated the trick when it mattered as the Spaniard went quickest in Q3 to knock Verstappen off his perch.
There was a risk Sainz could lose top spot as he was accused of ignoring the race director’s instruction to meet a minimum lap time when on a slow lap to avoid congestion on track. But the stewards confirmed that there would be no further investigation and a fairytale Monza pole was secure.
Verstappen was quick enough for second but will have the other Ferrari on his tail at the start of Sunday’s race. Charles Leclerc was blown away by the reception he received on the grid and expressed his pride despite being slightly annoyed that his Ferrari was not the one on pole.