What the teams said – Qualifying in Italy

Alpine

Gasly grabbed his maiden pole position in sensational fashion, beating the field on merit for Alpine. In truth, Alpine looked quick all day, so it was no surprise when both drivers made Q3 with ease. They had been troubling the top spots in Q1 and Q2, but many expected them to fall back a bit in Q3. That was not the case, Gasly nailing his second lap when many could not improve to beat Russell by 0.060s.

Colapinto was eighth and will start seventh once Antonelli’s penalty is applied, so the team could be on for a big points haul here. Especially as their car looks very quick in a straight line. Can Gasly win? Stranger things have happened here – not least to the Frenchman back in 2020…

Pierre Gasly, 1st, 1:21.786

"What an incredible moment, my first pole position in Formula 1! I am absolutely delighted by what happened today even if we all can't quite believe it. The result really exceeded our expectations. We did not expect that at all going into the day. It feels very special of course as I have been waiting a long time for this moment in Formula 1. Thank you to everyone at the team. The car felt very good, I felt good at the wheel and we just tried to chip away on each lap. Right from Q1 we were fast but even then I did not think pole position was possible! We'll enjoy this moment but we know tomorrow is when it really matters. We will work hard as a team to prepare for the race and really give it our best to maximise our end result as a team."

Franco Colapinto, 8th, 1:22.220

"Firstly, congratulations to Pierre and the team. It was an impressive lap from Pierre, and he managed to improve relative to me in the final part of Qualifying. It's positive to have both cars in Q3 and in the fight for points tomorrow, which we know is important given the gap to our rivals has grown in the championship. The car felt good throughout Qualifying and the changes we made were positive, and this is a circuit that clearly suits our package. We have good straight-line speed, but we know overtaking is a bit of an unknown here this year and deployment strategy will play a factor. We'll prepare, do our best and try to bring some points home."

Flavio Briatore, Executive Advisor

"What an incredible result for Pierre, Franco, and the whole team with pole position and both cars in Q3. I'm super proud of Pierre, who deserves this moment with his first-ever pole position in Formula 1. The team did a fantastic job and this is exactly what they deserve after the news this week and the points we feel we unfairly lost as a team. It's also amazing to celebrate this milestone for the team together with François [Provost], achieving the team's first pole position as Alpine, and the team's first pole in 17 years."

Mercedes

FP3 went well for Mercedes, leaving Russell as the heavy favourite for pole. It certainly looked like his chances were good midway through Qualifying, when Ferrari’s pace fell away. With Antonelli towing his team mate, too, pole seemed nailed on – but for some late heroics from Alpine. Russell later rued a “messy” final lap, where he wound up a little too close to Verstappen and thus had some dirty air to contend with. But starting second is still a strong result, especially with his team mate and championship rival down the back.

Antonelli had a grid drop for taking on a raft of new power unit components, but his pace looked strong so he will be hoping for a good recovery drive in the race.

Kimi Antonelli, 7th, 1:22.093

"It was a very strange feeling coming into Qualifying knowing I would serve a penalty for the race. Naturally, I wish I was fighting for pole position and starting at the front this weekend, but that's not the situation we're in. I still had a job to do for the team and to help George though, so I tried my best and I'm glad I could do that today.

"Tomorrow is all about enjoying the race and making the most of every opportunity. It's a track where you can have a lot of fun; there should be plenty of chances to gain positions, so hopefully we can make good progress. The key will be getting a clean start, staying out of trouble, clearing the traffic and then chasing down the cars ahead."

George Russell, 2nd, 1:21.846

"Pole position was within reach today. The final run was a bit messy on our side, and we perhaps didn't make life as straightforward for ourselves as we could have. Kimi did a great job helping me throughout and gave me a useful slipstream when I needed it but on the final push lap, Max complicated things slightly for us through Parabolica; that's all part of racing though.

"That said, huge congratulations to Pierre. We didn't expect that level of pace from him today, so it was a surprise, but he did an outstanding job. He's a great person, a great driver, and fully deserves that result.

"Starting P2 still puts us in a strong position for tomorrow. I've been right at the front in every session this weekend, so I'm feeling good about both myself and the car. Around a circuit like Monza, starting position isn't everything because there are genuine overtaking opportunities. The key will be getting a clean start and staying out of trouble on the first lap. From there we'll focus on our own race and hopefully give ourselves a good shot at victory."

Toto Wolff, Head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport

"Whoever ends up on pole position deserves to be there because they have clearly delivered when it mattered most. Congratulations to Pierre (Gasly) and Alpine; they have taken a lot of strides forward as a team recently and did a brilliant job today.

"Our Qualifying wasn't the most straightforward. We were trying to maximise the tow Kimi could give George, but we were tripped up by cars ahead. We could have maybe done something different, but this is all part of the games that are played at tracks like Monza.

"The most important takeaway for us is that we have a genuinely quick car. The pace has been there throughout the weekend and that is encouraging. At the same time, the Ferraris are extremely close and have looked competitive all weekend in front of their home crowd. McLaren and Red Bull have also been fast, plus we have Gasly starting ahead of us, so we know we need to get every detail right if we are to come away from tomorrow with another good result."

Andrew Shovlin, Trackside Engineering Director

"Today's Qualifying was not our cleanest session. From yesterday's running we expected it to be tight, but there proved to be even more contenders than we thought for pole. It was of course a bit of a surprise to be out qualified by Pierre Gasly in the Alpine, but they did a great job and deserve to be starting P1.

"Given Kimi carries a power unit penalty into tomorrow's race, we decided that it was the best decision to use him to give George a tow. That proved useful for George's laps but did make Kimi's life a harder as all his new tyre runs were in clear air. Even so, his pace was strong given the tow provided a good few tenths benefit.

"George had a tricky session with persistent brake locking that hadn't been a problem in FP3 but did seem to be causing him few issues from the start of Qualifying. We did what we could to manage that with settings but even so, it made it difficult on the big stops in the chicanes. We were very much in fight for pole until the final run, but we got bunched up opening the lap and that meant George started too close to Verstappen. Even with that, he did a great job to improve his time, but it wasn't quite enough to take P1.

"We're still in a strong position for the race tomorrow and it will be interesting from a strategy point of view with George at the front and Kimi fighting from the back. George is in a great position to fight for the win and if Kimi's pace is as strong as it looked on Friday, we'd hope that getting him into the higher points-scoring positions isn't out of the question."

McLaren

McLaren had a quiet final practice session, and came into Qualifying a slightly unknown quantity. But in Q2, they suddenly came alive and looked in the mix for the front rows. Piastri nailed his first lap in Q3 and he would have been glad to put in such a strong banker effort as with no tow on the second runs, he locked-up into Turn 1 and abandoned his lap. That left Norris following closely behind with no tow, which cost the World Champion - who could only grab ninth.

Piastri was pinged for impeding Lawson in Q2, though, and got called to the stewards to explain. He was handed a three-place grid drop, and will therefore start sixth.

Lando Norris, 9th, 1:22.256

“Today’s Qualifying was frustrating but ultimately what we expected given our car’s performance on this track. Our main weakness is a lack of straight-line speed, which means we are heavily reliant on securing a good slipstream to be competitive. On both of my final runs, I was unfortunate with my track positioning and couldn't get that tow, which cost us a significant amount of lap time. My lap itself wasn't bad, but you pay the price for that deficiency here. We also struggled with a braking issue that compromised confidence, which is never ideal.

“Looking ahead to the race, I'm not expecting a huge amount. It will be tough to fight through the field when we are at a disadvantage on the straights, and our race pace might be even more challenging. However, it's great to see an interesting grid, and congratulations to Alpine and Pierre for their performance. Oscar also did a very strong job to put the car in the top three, showing what was possible with a slipstream. We will analyse everything, try to have some fun tomorrow, and do our best to fight for some good points.”

Oscar Piastri, 3rd, 1:21.966

“It's good to have finished Qualifying in third, even if we will ultimately start the race in P6 tomorrow. When you do your run is always key here, and we knew our pit lane position would put us at risk of getting stuck at the back, so we committed to leaving the garage early and leading the train. The first lap was pretty solid and, looking at the times, only a handful improved on their final runs, so the team made the right call. Congratulations also to Alpine and Pierre on his first Pole position.

“Looking ahead to tomorrow, our long run pace isn't as quick as the Mercedes and the Ferraris, but the first few laps here are usually chaotic and the fastest car won't necessarily be the one leading after that. It could be an interesting one.”

Andrea Stella, Team Principal

“Firstly, congratulations to Pierre Gasly and Alpine on a fantastic Pole position. Today’s Qualifying was a clear demonstration of how crucial execution is at Monza, where the margins are incredibly fine. From this point of view, we performed very well in Q2, positioning our cars effectively to maximise the slipstream, but unfortunately, we failed to replicate that in the final segment of the session. We struggled to find the right track position in Q3, and a few inaccuracies meant we simply didn't maximise the potential we had.

“This, and the subsequent penalty received by Oscar, will mean that we will have one car on the third row of the grid and another on the fifth. These are not the positions we were hoping for, but we have to focus on extracting the best from this situation. Tomorrow is a long race with many strategic elements at play, particularly with power unit management. There will be opportunities to overtake, and it will be a challenging but interesting race. We are focused on making up ground and delivering a much stronger performance for the team and our fans.”

Ferrari

Ferrari looked in the fight for pole on home soil, with both drivers making it through Q1 with relative ease. But from there things suddenly got much more complicated. Hamilton’s first lap in Q2 on used tyres was not good enough for the top 10, leaving him up against it to nail his second effort. On fresh tyres, he scraped into Q3 by 0.001s. Leclerc was hardly better off, only making it in by 0.008s. The car seemed to have lost pace, and then the team did not help themselves by sending Hamilton out by himself in Q3 so he did not have a tow.

Their second runs at least secured decent grid slots, but the Scuderia need to do some head scratching to work out where their pace has gone, and what can be done for tomorrow considering the cars are now in parc ferme conditions.

Lewis Hamilton, 5th, 1:22.011

"The car felt strong in FP3 and we showed solid pace early in Qualifying. In the end, we didn’t quite maximise Q3 and it cost us, but congratulations to Pierre on an incredible result. Overall, I’m encouraged by our direction. The team is working incredibly hard, bringing updates and constantly pushing to extract more performance, and I’m so proud of everyone here at the circuit and back in Maranello. The support of the Tifosi means a lot and I’m incredibly grateful for it. It’s a tight fight at the front and the opportunity is there to move forward, so tomorrow we’ll race hard, stay focused on what we need to do, and give everything to deliver in front of this crowd."

Charles Leclerc, 4th, 1:22.004

"This is a very demanding track on which to optimise the PU and driving style on this year’s car, and we didn’t manage to fully optimise. I’m very happy for Pierre who took pole today. He did an incredible job and delivered when he had the chance. I expect us to be stronger tomorrow compared to where we are in Qualifying trim, keeping in mind that our competitors are very strong on the straights. We will leverage our speed in the corners and see where we can make gains. Yo-yo-racing will be a topic tomorrow, unless we all align on the same PU strategy which is unlikely. We will race for our Tifosi tomorrow and do everything to make them proud."

Fred Vasseur, Team Principal

"From a team perspective, we were expecting to suffer a bit here because of the layout of the track, so to be just one tenth off Russell’s time is a good result. Q2 was a bit more complicated as we had an issue with the battery on the out-lap and we came quite close to being in a much worse position. Looking ahead to tomorrow, our race pace was decent yesterday, as has been the case at the past few races. For sure, strategy will play an important role because you have to decide how to deploy the energy. Everything is still possible tomorrow, but we will have to do everything perfectly if we want to give our home fans something to cheer about."

Red Bull

With Lawson set for grid penalties, Red Bull attempted to use the tow in Qualifying to help Verstappen. Lawson towed the Dutchman round in Q2, but that left the substitute outside the top 10. As such, the team then reversed their positions with Verstappen then towing Lawson. But they got their timings all wrong, Lawson on a hot lap as the rest were on out-laps. A combination of Piastri getting in his way and traffic in general prevented Lawson from improving and thus Verstappen had no tow in Q3.

The Dutchman could not make much of a dent in Q3, and was left complaining about what sounded like a mechanical failure on his car.

Max Verstappen, 6th, 1:22.070

"FP3 was quite a positive session and everything was very decent for us. I didn't think I was fighting for pole, but it was quite a comfortable car to drive and that was really nice. Qualifying was a bit more difficult and the car was jumping around quite a bit. I think we just had an issue on the car that affected our Qualifying and limited the performance, which cost us time in the low speed. This was a shame as we thought there was a lot more in it today. It was also a shame for Liam as he got blocked in Q2, which affected his lap. We couldn’t optimise everything that we could and we need look at our limitations within the car. Then we can try to be a bit more competitive in the race, but we will see what we can do for tomorrow."

Liam Lawson, 14th, 1:22.821

"We knew coming into this weekend that we’d be taking an engine penalty, so the focus in Qualifying was to try to support Max by getting into Q3 and helping with a tow, but unfortunately we never made it. I’d spent the whole session in clean air until that last lap, so getting blocked by Oscar probably hurt more than anything. The tyres were also super hot, so it wasn’t an ideal situation. It was a difficult day in general, but I was always going to start last, so for my race it doesn’t really make a difference. Hopefully we can make up some good places tomorrow."

Laurent Mekies, Team Principal

"We have some mixed feelings after today’s Qualifying: of course we cannot be happy with a P5 start, but I think the pace today was an improvement compared to where we were on Friday. Max had a much better feeling with the car in FP3 this morning and, overall, we have been closer to pole position than what we have shown in the last few races. The pack was really tight between the top six or seven cars and we finished at the back of it today, which is a bit frustrating, but it’s part of the game when the gaps are so small. We have a few things we need to fix and improve for tomorrow so that we can be in the fight with the guys ahead.

"On Liam’s side, we knew we were going to have to take a grid penalty for a PU change and it’s a shame we missed the cut for Q3 because of the traffic he got on his final lap. Overall, Liam is doing a good job again with us this weekend, and I am sure he is going to give it a strong fight to make his way through the field tomorrow."

Racing Bulls

Lindblad impressed in FP3 and looked a sure bet for Q3. As such, it was a little interesting to see Tsunoda seemingly tow his team mate in Q1, the Japanese racer not able to escape the first part of Qualifying as a result. In truth, Tsunoda was up against it after not getting a clean run on the softs in final practice, and then coming out late in Qualifying after the team had to fix a fuel leak.

Lindblad did indeed make Q3 by himself, the sixth race weekend in a row he has reached the top 10 shootout.

Arvid Lindblad, 10th, 1:22.286

"It's great to make it into Q3 once again. I'm a little bit disappointed with today's final result. After a strong Q1 and Q2, I didn't fully maximise my last lap in Q3 and I lost around a tenth, so P8 was on the table. This has been one of the most complex Qualifying sessions I've had in F1 this year, as it felt more like an F3 session with everyone hunting for a tow. Alpine definitely surprised us; they'd clearly been holding something back, and it turned out that they were very quick on the straights. Fair play to them, but we know we have a very good package, and Monza is a unique circuit, so this isn't a cause for concern. I think tomorrow the top teams will still be able to pull away during the race, but points are definitely available, so we'll focus tonight on working on a few things and will try to get the best possible result in the race."

Yuki Tsunoda, 17th, 1:23.755

"Today was disappointing and we didn’t quite manage to get the result we were looking for. It’s incredibly complex around here and a lot different to Zandvoort, particularly when it comes to preparing the out-lap and getting the power unit and tyres into the right window. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to put everything together when it mattered. We’ll be starting from P15 tomorrow, so hopefully we can make some moves forward. I’m looking forward to getting back in the car and seeing what we can do."

Tim Goss, Chief Technical Officer

"It was a day of mixed emotions for VCARB today. The car’s been strong and we’ve fined tuned the set-up to extract the best compromise between the ultimate aerodynamic platform in the medium and high speed, whilst also protecting drag reduction on the straights. The Qualifying session proved to be a complex exercise of balancing tyre preparation on the out-lap with power unit battery level preparation, whilst trying to pick up a powerful tow from a car in front.

"Yuki's first Qualifying session didn't go according to plan and together we didn't get all of these competing requirements in the right window. Monza is a very different track to Zandvoort when it comes to managing energy so it’s fair to say there’s a lot to adjust to. Arvid comfortably progressed through the first two sessions and once again got through to the final shootout in Q3. It proved to be a very close session, but we found ourselves in direct competition with the front-running teams. We felt that if we had got everything just right, we could have found the few fractions of a second needed to climb another place or two, but overall, we are pleased with another top-10 start and should be in a strong position to challenge for points tomorrow."

Audi

Audi have been flirting with the top 10 all weekend, but when it came down to it both drivers just missed out in Qualifying. It could not have been closer, though, Bortoleto finishing in P11 just 0.001s behind Hamilton’s Ferrari. He and Hulkenberg will inherit a place tomorrow, so points are in the offing for the team, which is just as well as it looks like some of their midfield rivals could score big at Monza.

Nico Hulkenberg, 13th, 1:22.779

"It was a tricky Qualifying. Around Monza, getting the timing and the tow right makes a big difference, and in Q1 I found myself in the wrong place a couple of times, which made it difficult to put a proper lap together. Things improved in Q2 and the pace started to come, but by then it was just a little too late to make the next step. Tomorrow won't be straightforward from where we're starting, but we've shown over the last few weekends that we can race well. We'll look to make progress where we can and make the most of every opportunity that comes our way."

Gabriel Bortoleto, 11th, 1:22.517

"Our last push lap was good, so it's obviously a shame to miss out on Q3 by such a small margin. I had a little moment with the rear in Turn 8 and lost a bit of time there, but I don't think there was much more we could have extracted from the car today. Overall, I've been quite happy with how this weekend has gone so far. The team has done an incredible job and, even at a track we expected to be more challenging for us, we have still managed to be in the mix. I think we can be in the fight for points tomorrow. It won't be easy, because the cars around us are quick as well, but we'll make the most of every opportunity."

Allan McNish, Racing Director

“Overall, I think we got the maximum out of the car today. It’s obviously slightly frustrating to miss out on Q3 by just 0.001 of a second, but we knew coming into Monza that it was likely to be a more challenging weekend for us. Qualifying was incredibly tight, as expected, but we maximised the opportunities we had and put ourselves in the best position possible. With the grid penalties ahead of us, we’ll move up a few places, so we’ll see what we can do tomorrow with Nico and Gabi and make the most of the race.”

Haas

The American outfit's upgrades do seem to have jumped them up the order, with both cars making it out of Q1. Bearman put both sets of upgrades to good use, grabbing 12th, his best Qualifying since Miami. He will start even higher when Antonelli’s grid penalty is applied, and will be chasing Haas’ first points since Monaco. As for Ocon, with only the aero package on his car, he could not quite match his team mate out there.

Oliver Bearman, 12th, 1:22.756

“Honestly from the first lap in FP1 I’ve been happy with the car. It’s been exactly the direction we’ve been asking for over these past few events. Although, on one side, we’re not great on the straights as a result of bringing the upgrade, but obviously we’re faster throughout the lap from it and that’s a step in terms of downforce through the corners. The feeling has been really nice, and it’s been good to be up there fighting again. We’ll keep pushing and the target tomorrow is the top 10 and points.”

Esteban Ocon, 16th, 1:23.454

“I’m happy with my lap in Qualifying – we really maximised the potential of what we had today. There are a few differences across cars, not only on the engine but also on the aero-side – we struggle with the consistency always, and that has materialised on my car the whole weekend. But the team did a mega job trying to fix the problem, we changed as many parts as possible on the car for today and even in FP3. We didn’t get to the bottom of the problem, we still had it in Qualifying, we still have the load loss on the aero - but hats off to the team, as it was a lot of work with no reward at the end. That said it was good to get into Q2 and hopefully we can get some decent racing tomorrow.”

Ayao Komatsu, Team Principal

“Overall I think it was a positive Saturday. Yesterday we showed that we made a good improvement with the car, but we had to execute today. Of course, first and foremost, we wanted to get both cars out of Q1 – and we managed to do that. Then we fought against Audi close to the Q3 position, to be able to do that shows that we clearly have made improvements. The driver comments are the same from yesterday, the car is definitely more drivable, it’s been easier for them to extract maximum performance out of it.

“That’s full credit to everyone that’s been developing the car, it goes to show that everybody’s been working together. We’ve got to identify the problem at the track, listen to the drivers, and then bring everything together. Then you form your hypothesis as to how to develop the car – and we did. The proof has been in the pudding through Friday and today that we’ve gone in the right direction. It’s really pleasing, and I’m really happy that everyone’s been working together in that way. We want to finish this weekend on a high. From our starting positions, of course it’s going to be difficult, but we’d really like to get the best out of our car and hopefully pick up on anything that happens in front of us.”

Williams

Albon is another driver set to start from the back of the field thanks to penalties, so he sacrificed his Q1 to tow his team mate. It worked, with Sainz making Q2 – and the team were quick to thank the Thai driver afterwards. But Sainz could not go any further, as that Williams continues to lag behind most of the midfield.

Carlos Sainz, 15th, 1:23.453

“We tried a few things yesterday and this morning, which got the car into a better place. We did all we could today and maximised the result. A clean lap in Q1 and a good lap in Q2 to be ahead of Ocon - meaning I'll be starting P13 tomorrow. Let's see what we can do tomorrow from there!”

Alex Albon, 18th, 1:24.356

“We knew we would be starting at the back of the grid due to the engine penalty, so the plan today was to play the team game and help get Carlos through to Q2. Deployment and tow are so powerful that staying in the chain matters a lot, so that will be key tomorrow to make up places. Pace was okay, although we’re still off the midfield, but the engine is strong on the straights. The F2 and F3 races had some drama, so hopefully we get a bit of chaos to play into our hands tomorrow. The real focus now is on the race, and hopefully we can fight in the midfield."

James Vowles, Team Principal

“The session was executed as well as we could; that was fundamentally where our car is performance-wise. We're lacking performance through the two Lesmos and the Parabolica, and we haven't been able to get the car into a good enough place this weekend.

Thank you to Alex, who played the team game in providing a tow for Carlos. We have engine penalties with him, so irrespective, there was nothing we could do today that would change his ultimate position on the grid tomorrow. Carlos got everything out of the car that we could, and it just illustrates the gap that we need to work on.Well done to Pierre - really quick lap and great to see him taking pole position."

Cadillac

Cadillac had a reasonably tidy day, with no obvious reliability issues. Perez did dip a wheel in the gravel in practice, but kept his Qualifying much tidier. Both drivers out-qualified the Aston Martin cars, which was progress, with Bottas just beating his team mate by two tenths of a second to continue his recent run of form over one lap.

Sergio Perez, 20th, 1:24.595

“Overall, I think we did a good job with everything we had today. We have a decent race pace, and this is the most important thing for tomorrow to go a bit further ahead, it will be the main target for us. Having the positive tone and approach can make a difference, and I think we managed that well. We’ll now focus on making the most of the opportunities we have for tomorrow.”

Valtteri Bottas, 19th, 1:24.364

“A straightforward and well executed Qualifying session for us today. We had three good laps which put us ahead of Aston Martin and very close to Alex [Albon]. So far this weekend has gone smoothly which has allowed us to focus on the fine details of the setup, so it feels like we’re maximising our package. With the penalties up ahead, we start tomorrow’s race from the team’s best starting position of P16.”

Marcin Budkowski, Team Principal

“It was a well-executed Qualifying session for us. We are ahead of Aston Martin and just one hundredth away from gaining another position, which gives us our best combined starting position as a team, with penalties applied. That is encouraging, but we will not get ahead of ourselves. Tomorrow is a long, hot race, and the key will be to stay focused and execute well, so we can make the most of every opportunity.”

Aston Martin

Aston Martin have shown some big improvements of late since their upgrades went on, but that trend did not continue in Monza. Alonso parked up and got out the car early in Q1 with what appeared to be an issue. Stroll, meanwhile, could not extract much pace from the AMR26. They locked out the back row, but both will inherit some places when others drop to the back.

Fernando Alonso, 21st, 1:25.150

“We are currently investigating an issue with the car that kept us in the garage at the end of Q1. We missed the opportunity to use a fresh set of tyres, which meant our Qualifying was cut short and we did not get the chance to improve our lap time. We know we are behind our competitors, particularly with the lack of pace we have on the straights, which makes this circuit very tough.”

Lance Stroll, 22nd, 1:25.222

“The result today was as we expected and we have always known this track was going to be a real challenge. We are missing power, which is what you need around this circuit. It's going to be a difficult race for us tomorrow.”

Mike Krack, Chief Trackside Officer

“A tough Saturday in Monza with these high-speed circuit characteristics not suited to our package right now. We tried to get tows with both cars throughout Q1, but we were simply missing the pace to progress to Q2. Tomorrow will be a similar challenge, so we will try and maximise the things we can control and take any opportunities that come our way.”

Pirelli

Dario Marrafuschi, Pirelli Motorsport Director

“Our simulations indicate that a one-stop strategy will be the most competitive option at Monza, although several variations are very close in terms of overall race time. The choice of starting compound will likely depend on the characteristics of each car, as well as on the strategic approach teams wish to adopt according to their grid position.

"The Medium appears to offer the greatest flexibility, allowing teams to react to any neutralisations in either the early stages or the latter part of the race. On paper, the quickest strategy involves starting on the C4 and making a pit stop between laps 24 and 30 before running to the flag on the Hard.

"An alternative, estimated to be around two seconds slower over the full race distance, is to switch from the Medium to the Soft between laps 30 and 36. The C5 has proved fully raceable and could represent an interesting option for those looking to exploit its higher level of initial grip to gain positions along the long straight leading into Turn 1. In this scenario, the optimal pit stop window would be between laps 19 and 25, with the Hard compound taken through to the chequered flag.

"The data gathered today confirms limited degradation across all three compounds, with no signs of critical wear or significant performance drop-off. We expect the graining observed yesterday to remain limited and not to have a significant impact on stint management.

"The characteristics of the circuit, with its long straights and relatively low traction demands, also help control rear tyre temperatures and therefore promote optimal thermal management throughout the Grand Prix. Teams will therefore have several strategic options available, with all three compounds fully usable and capable of offering different opportunities depending on how the race unfolds.”