Italian Grand Prix: Qualifying Recap

Both drivers had the pace to advance beyond Q1 as qualifying commenced around ‘The Temple of Speed’. Hulkenberg banked a 1:20.781 opening lap on his Pirelli P Zero Red softs to secure a Q2 slot in P13. Magnussen landed P14 – setting his fastest time, a 1:20.856, on his first set of the soft rubber. The Dane suffered a gearbox issue at the end of final practice earlier in the day but a trouble-free change of gearbox between sessions meant Magnussen’s crew didn’t skip a beat in Q1 – their reward, a spot in the top 15 knockout stage.

Hulkenberg and Magnussen each started Q2 on used softs – setting a 1:20.434 and a 1:20.698 respectively. Armed with new tires, Hulkenberg duly delivered a quick lap of 1:20.411 to progress into Q3 – the German ending Q2 P10 on the timesheets. Magnussen’s opening lap proved to be his best of the session to place P13 and out of qualifying in Q2.

Hulkenberg went on to capture P10 on the grid for Sunday’s 53-lap race with a Q3 hot lap of 1:20.339 on his final set of fresh softs. Lando Norris captured a second consecutive pole position courtesy of a 1:19.327 effort ahead of McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri.



Nico Hulkenberg:

“I think it’s a solid job to be inside the top 10. To be behind Alex (Albon) by such a small margin isn’t ideal; I lost it already into Turn 1 and 2, and on the new tire somehow I didn’t make them stick, every time on new tires it didn’t go well, so that’s something to understand. All in all, I’m happy, the car has felt pretty decent on the low downforce package, I have a good feeling and confidence and hopefully, we can take that into tomorrow. I think we’re in the mix, but I expect us all to be very tight.”

Kevin Magnussen:

“The nightmare continues in qualifying. In Q1, the Williams went off in front of me and there was so much dust I didn’t know if he was off the track or on – I couldn’t see anything – so that lap was ruined. It’s very important to get a slipstream here, it can give you three tenths, and I went out behind the two Alpine but they did a prep lap, so I ended up without a tow, completely on my own. That margin is what I’m missing for Q3 but P13 isn’t too far away from the top 10 and we can do something from there.”

Ayao Komatsu, Team Principal:

“It was a decent qualifying. We wanted to get both cars into Q3, but couldn’t quite achieve that. To be honest, to get out of Q1 was a bit lucky when Kevin went off on his final run, but his first run was good enough to progress. In Q2, Nico’s used tire lap was also good enough for Q3 and then in the final session we always knew, we were fighting for P9 with Alex Albon, and we lost it by four hundredths, but I think we maximized what we could. Overall it’s been a pretty satisfying day, starting P9 and P13 at a circuit where you can overtake, I think we can really fight for points.”

Today's Data:

Event: Qualifying for the Italian Grand Prix – Saturday August 31
Location: Autodromo Nazionale Monza, Italy
Layout: 5.793-kilometer (3.6-mile), 11-turn circuit 
Weather: Sunny
Air Temps: 33 degrees Celsius (91.4 degrees Fahrenheit)
Track Temps: 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit)
Team Result: Hulkenberg qualified 10th, Magnussen qualified 13th

Free Practice 3 (FP3) Rundown:

Hulkenberg: 10th overall (1:20.943), 18 laps 
Magnussen: 16th overall (1:21.208), 21 laps
Fastest: Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes (1:20.117)

Q1 Qualifying: 18-mins with all Drivers – Top 15 Advance to Q2

Hulkenberg: 13th overall (1:20.781) – Advanced to Q2
Magnussen: 14th overall (1:20.856) – Advanced to Q2
Fastest: Lando Norris of McLaren (1:19.911)

Q2 Qualifying: 15-mins – Top 10 Advance to Q3

Hulkenberg: 10th overall (1:20.411) – Advanced to Q3
Magnussen: 13th overall (1:20.698) 
Fastest: Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes (1:19.641)

Q3 Qualifying: 12-mins – Top 10 Drivers

Hulkenberg: 10th overall (1:20.339) 
Pole: Lando Norris of McLaren (1:19.327)