LIVE F1, Italian GP real-time qualifying: Hamilton takes the pole-position and the track record

CLICK HERE TO UPDATE THE LIVE COVERAGE

[sc name=”banner-article”]

16.08 Thank you for following us. Keep following OA Sport for more stories, updates, comments and videos. Enjoy the rest of the day, and until tomorrow for the race of the Italian GP.

16.05 Lewis Hamilton confirms to be the best one in the qualifying lap, obtaining another pole position, with a new track record in 1’18″887, ahead of his teammate (+0.069) and an incredible Carlos Sains (+0.805). Disappointing Max Verstappen in P5 (+0.908). The bad moment continues for Ferrari with Charles Leclerc in P13 and Sebastian Vettel in P17, with the SF1000 that is not competitive in any sector.

16.00 CHECKED FLAG!

15.59 Hamilton takes the pole position. It is the number 94 for him and a new track record. Bottas takes P2 only by 0.069. An amazing Carlos Sainz takes P3, 0.808 behind Hamilton. Verstappen in P5.

1 Lewis HAMILTON Mercedes1:18.887 6
2 Valtteri BOTTAS Mercedes+0.069 6
3 Carlos SAINZ McLaren+0.808 5
4 Sergio PEREZ Racing Point+0.833 5
5 Max VERSTAPPEN Red Bull Racing+0.908 5
6 Lando NORRIS McLaren+0.933 6
7 Daniel RICCIARDO Renault+0.977 6
8 Lance STROLL Racing Point+1.162 6
9 Alexander ALBON Red Bull Racing+1.203 6
10 Pierre GASLY AlphaTauri+1.290 6
11 Daniil KVYAT AlphaTauri- – 4
12 Esteban OCON Renault- – 4
13 Charles LECLERC Ferrari- – 5
14 Kimi RÄIKKÖNEN Alfa Romeo Racing- – 5
15 Kevin MAGNUSSEN Haas F1 Team- – 5
16 Romain GROSJEAN Haas F1 Team- – 3
17 Sebastian VETTEL Ferrari- – 2
18 Antonio GIOVINAZZI Alfa Romeo Racing- – 3
19 George RUSSELL Williams- – 2
20 Nicholas LATIFI Williams- – 2

15.58 LEWIS HAMILTON SETS ANOTHER TRACK RECORD IN 1’18″887! Unbelievable Mercedes!

15.56 Last minutes of Q3! Anything can happen now!

15.54 “P13, I’m not happy. Let’s hope that at Mugello it will be better. Choosing the tyre might help us, but we still have two carr ahead of us that can choose too. It will be hard to overtake even with DRS,” said Leclerc at Sky Sport Italia confirming he has done all he could.

15.52 After the first attempt, Hamilton takes the lead in 1’19″068. Bottas follows at only 0.053 behind. Perez in P3 0.652 behind. Follow in order, Verstappen, Sainz, Norris, Ricciardo, Gasly, Stroll and Albon.

15.49 Hamilton ahead of Bottas, Verstappen, Sainz, Perez, Stroll, Ricciardo, Gasly and Albon.

15.47 Q3 STARTS NOW!

15.46 The situation after Q1 and Q2:

15.43 Kvyat, Ocon, Leclerc, Raikkonen and Magnussen are eliminated. Ferrari confirms the bad performances of SF 1000.

15.41 Bottas with a new track record takes the lead ahead of Hamilton and Sainz. Verstappen in P5. Leclerc in P13 is eliminated and will not go into Q3. The nightmare continues for Ferrari.

1 Valtteri BOTTAS Mercedes1:18.952 4
2 Lewis HAMILTON Mercedes+0.140 4
3 Carlos SAINZ McLaren+0.753 3
4 Sergio PEREZ Racing Point+0.766 3
5 Max VERSTAPPEN Red Bull Racing+0.828 3
6 Pierre GASLY AlphaTauri+0.957 4
7 Lance STROLL Racing Point+0.972 4
8 Lando NORRIS McLaren+1.010 4
9 Daniel RICCIARDO Renault+1.079 4
10 Alexander ALBON Red Bull Racing+1.112 4
11 Daniil KVYAT AlphaTauri+1.217 4 ELIMINATED
12 Esteban OCON Renault+1.282 4 ELIMINATED
13 Charles LECLERC Ferrari+1.321 5 ELIMINATED
14 Kimi RÄIKKÖNEN Alfa Romeo Racing+1.974 5 ELIMINATED
15 Kevin MAGNUSSEN Haas F1 Team+2.621 5 ELIMINATED

15.40 BOTTAS SETS A NEW TRACK RECORD IN 1’18″952!

15.39 It’s a close one!

15.37 Everyone back on track at the same time. It will get messy and chaotic. Similarly to Q1, they will try to be slow to use the slipstream of the car ahead. Ricciardo leading the group on track at the moment.

15.35 5′ at the end of Q2, another slipstream game?

15.33 “The problem is that there were too many cars on track at the same point. I believe that today after we left the box, we couldn’t do anything. We went out at the wrong moment. The race is tomorrow, we’ll see what we can do.” said Vettel at Sky Sport Italia.

15.31 With 9 minutes left, the drivers at risk to be eliminated after Q2 are Kvyat, Ocon, Leclerc, Magnussen and Raikkonen.

15.30 After the first attempt, Hamilton is in the lead followed by his teammate, Bottas, and Perez. A surprising Carlos Sainz is in P4 followed by Verstappen. Leclerc in P13 at the moment but he had used tyres for his first attempt.

1 Lewis HAMILTON Mercedes1:19.092 3
2 Valtteri BOTTAS Mercedes+0.325 3
3 Sergio PEREZ Racing Point+0.626 2
4 Carlos SAINZ McLaren+0.631 2
5 Max VERSTAPPEN Red Bull Racing+0.688 2
6 Pierre GASLY AlphaTauri+0.817 3
7 Lance STROLL Racing Point+0.832 3
8 Lando NORRIS McLaren+0.870 3
9 Daniel RICCIARDO Renault+0.939 3
10 Alexander ALBON Red Bull Racing+0.972 3
11 Daniil KVYAT AlphaTauri+1.077 3
12 Esteban OCON Renault+1.142 3
13 Charles LECLERC Ferrari+1.655 4
14 Kevin MAGNUSSEN Haas F1 Team+2.481 4
15 Kimi RÄIKKÖNEN Alfa Romeo Racing+3.243 4

15.29 HAMILTON SETS A NEW TRACK RECORD IN 1’19″092!

15.27 Everyone is on track with soft tyres. Mercedes in front of everyone with Bottas ahead of Hamilton who will use the slipstream.

15.25 Q2 STARTS NOW!!

15.23 Obviously, it was not the right decision and timing for Vettel, who was stuck in traffic and not able to improve his time and qualify into Q2.

15.20 Hamilton improves his time and stays in the lead (1’19″514). Leclerc in P10, Vettel eliminated. An embarrassing situation with the chaos and the traffic which most likely will repeat in Q2 as well. Grosjean, Vettel, Giovinazzi, Russell and Latifi eliminated in Q1.

1 Lewis HAMILTON Mercedes1:19.514 2
2 Valtteri BOTTAS Mercedes+0.272 2
3 Sergio PEREZ Racing Point+0.534 1
4 Carlos SAINZ McLaren+0.585 1
5 Pierre GASLY AlphaTauri+0.631 2
6 Max VERSTAPPEN Red Bull Racing+0.679 1
7 Daniil KVYAT AlphaTauri+0.793 2
8 Lando NORRIS McLaren+0.830 2
9 Lance STROLL Racing Point+0.886 2
10 Charles LECLERC Ferrari+0.929 3
11 Daniel RICCIARDO Renault+1.034 2
12 Esteban OCON Renault+1.233 2
13 Kevin MAGNUSSEN Haas F1 Team+1.355 3
14 Kimi RÄIKKÖNEN Alfa Romeo Racing+1.496 3
15 Alexander ALBON Red Bull Racing+1.590 2
16 Romain GROSJEAN Haas F1 Team+1.625 3 ELIMINATED
17 Sebastian VETTEL Ferrari+1.637 2 ELIMINATED
18 Antonio GIOVINAZZI Alfa Romeo Racing+1.692 3 ELIMINATED
19 George RUSSELL Williams+2.073 2 ELIMINATED
20 Nicholas LATIFI Williams+2.203 2 ELIMINATED

15.18 Too much traffic. Vettel and Raikkonen are not able to improve their times.

15.17 3 minutes left and it is pure chaos! Everyone went back on track all at the same time. It seems history is repeating itself.

15.16 Updated times:

1 Lewis HAMILTON Mercedes1:19.539 1
2 Valtteri BOTTAS Mercedes+0.247 2
3 Sergio PEREZ Racing Point+0.509 1
4 Carlos SAINZ McLaren+0.560 1
5 Max VERSTAPPEN Red Bull Racing+0.654 1
6 Lando NORRIS McLaren+0.805 1
7 Lance STROLL Racing Point+0.861 1
8 Pierre GASLY AlphaTauri+0.877 1
9 Daniel RICCIARDO Renault+1.009 1
10 Daniil KVYAT AlphaTauri+1.033 1
11 Charles LECLERC Ferrari+1.068 2
12 Esteban OCON Renault+1.208 1
13 Kevin MAGNUSSEN Haas F1 Team+1.330 2
14 Kimi RÄIKKÖNEN Alfa Romeo Racing+1.471 2
15 Alexander ALBON Red Bull Racing+1.565 1
16 Romain GROSJEAN Haas F1 Team+1.600 2
17 Sebastian VETTEL Ferrari+1.612 1
18 Antonio GIOVINAZZI Alfa Romeo Racing+1.667 2
19 George RUSSELL Williams+2.048 1
20 Nicholas LATIFI Williams+2.575 1

15.13 Ferrari continues to struggle. Leclerc is in P11, 1″068 behind the lead and with a lap without slipstream. Vettel in P17.

15.12 With five minutes left in Q1, Grosjean, Vettel, Giovinazzi, Russell and Latifi are the ones who will not move into Q2 at the moment.

15.08 Mercedes finish their laps: Hamilton in 1’19″359 with 0.247 advantage on Bottas and 0.509 on Perez. Verstappen is in P6 at the moment. Vettel in P12, Leclerc does not have a timed lap yet.

15.08 Leclerc needs to pit-stop before during another attempt. Not the best way to start his qualifying.

15.07 Mercedes is already pushing with medium tyres.

15.05 Leclerc’s time is cancelled as he overcame track limits during the lap.

1 Sebastian VETTEL Ferrari1:21.151 1
2 Romain GROSJEAN Haas F1 Team+0.251 1
3 George RUSSELL Williams+0.436 1
4 Antonio GIOVINAZZI Alfa Romeo Racing+0.615 1
5 Kimi RÄIKKÖNEN Alfa Romeo Racing+0.624 1
6 Nicholas LATIFI Williams+0.963 1
7 Valtteri BOTTAS Mercedes- – 1
8 Carlos SAINZ McLaren- – 1
9 Lando NORRIS McLaren- – 1
10 Daniel RICCIARDO Renault- – 1
11 Lewis HAMILTON Mercedes- – 1
12 Max VERSTAPPEN Red Bull Racing- – 1
13 Alexander ALBON Red Bull Racing- – 1
14 Esteban OCON Renault- – 1
15 Sergio PEREZ Racing Point- – 1
16 Charles LECLERC Ferrari- – 1
17 Pierre GASLY AlphaTauri- – 1
18 Kevin MAGNUSSEN Haas F1 Team- – 1
19 Lance STROLL Racing Point- – 1
20 Daniil KVYAT AlphaTauri- – 1

15.04 1’20″970 for Leclerc who takes the lead temporary ahead of Vettel and Grosjean.

15.03 Alfa Romeo is on track with both Giovinazzi and Raikkonen.

15.02 Haas, Williams and Ferrari on track. Both Ferrari have soft tyres, Vettel is ahead of Leclerc so it will be Leclerc to use the slipstream in the first lap.

15.01 Although the issue to his car during FP3, Daniel Ricciardo (Renault) will take part in qualifying without any issues.

15.00 Q1 STARTS NOW! 18 minutes to decide who move into Q2 and the last 5 positions.

14.57 The slipstream strategy will be the key aspect of today’s qualifying. As always here in Monza, there is a very thin line between waiting for the other teams to use the slipstream and being stuck in traffic without the possibility to do the perfect timed lap.

14.55 While waiting for the start of the qualifying, here are some highlight from FP3.

14.52 Today it is the 50th anniversary of the death of one of the legends of F1. Jochen Rindt lost his life here in Monza.

14.50 Looking at the pole position on this track, Lewis Hamilton gained it 6 times (2009, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017). Hamilton also holds the record of the higher number of pole positions in a row, which shares with Ayrton Senna. Sebastian Vettel got pole position here in Monza 3 times (2008, 2011, 2013), Kimi Raikkonen 2 times (2006, 2018) and Leclerc once in 2019.

14.45 For Gasly (AlphaTauri) has been the best Friday so far in this season.

14.42 Analysing the simulation of qualifying they did this morning, it seems that Mercedes made a difference in Sector 2 and sector 3 while Ricciardo, in his Renault, seemed to make a difference in Sector 1.

14.41 Here is the classification after free practice 3 this morning:

14.40 There is a lot of interest in today’s qualifying as it is the first time that a different engine setting, known as “party-mode” or qualifying mode will not be available. The teams that were taking more advantage with the qualifying mode were those using a Mercedes power unit.

Good afternoon and welcome to the LIVE updates of the qualifying session of the Italian GP, the eighth round of F1 2020. The drivers will need to drive as fast as possible to decide the starting grid of Sunday’s race on the iconic track of Autodromo Nazionale di Monza.

The qualifying session in Monza is always different compared to other tracks as the strategy to gain the slipstream from the car in front is essential to gain some positions on the starting grid. We all remember the traffic during the last minutes of Q3 last year when Charles Leclerc was the one getting the pole position. Besides, starting with the Italian GP, it will not be possible to use a different engine setting only for the qualifying; therefore the qualifying mode, also known as the “party-mode” is not available to use for any of the teams. This new FIA regulation might impact Mercedes and those teams that have a Mercedes power unit more. However, no one knows yet how the lack of the qualifying mode will truly impact each team and how much difference we will see during today’s qualifying. Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas have gained all seven pole positions so far this season, and they monopolised the first row.

For Ferrari, this is not an easy weekend either. The main goal today is to move into Q3. Yesterday, Charles Leclerc was constantly in the middle group of drivers, right ahead or right behind P10. It is much more complicated for Sebastian Vettel, less performing with his SF1000 than his teammate. However, both of them will need to avoid mistakes in this challenging track, not an easy task after both of them had made some yesterday.

The other home team, AlphaTauri, can realistically aim for a top ten with both drivers, Pierre Gasly and Daniil Kvyat, who performed well in the first two sessions of free practice and can gain some critical points in the race tomorrow.

OA Sport offers the LIVE updates of the qualifying of the Italian GP, the eighth round of F1 2020: real-time updates not to miss any action at the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza. Qualifying starts at 15.00. Enjoy!

[sc name=”banner-article”]

Click here to follow OA Sport on Instagram
Click here to like our Facebook page
Click here to join our Facebook group
Click here to follow OA Sport on Twitter

Photo Credit: LaPresse