Tuscan Grand Prix: Qualifying Recap

Event: Qualifying for the Tuscan Grand Prix – Saturday September 12
Location: Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello, Italy
Layout: 5.245-kilometer (3.259-mile), 15-turn circuit
Weather: Sunny
Air Temps: 29 degrees Celsius (84.2 degrees Fahrenheit)
Track Temps: 46 degrees Celsius (114.8 degrees Fahrenheit)
Pole Winner: Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes (1:15.144) 
Result:    Romain Grosjean qualified 15th / Kevin Magnussen qualified 20th 

Free Practice No. 3 Rundown

Grosjean: 10th overall (1:17.635), 19 laps completed
Magnussen: 15th overall (1:18.039) 17 laps completed
Fastest: Valtteri Bottas of Mercedes (1:16.530)

Q1 Rundown: 

⦁    18-minute session with all 20 drivers – Top 15 advance to Q2

Grosjean: 14th overall (1:17.069), Advances to Q2
Magnussen: 20th overall (1:17.348)
Fastest: Valtteri Bottas of Mercedes (1:15.749) 

Q2 Rundown: 

⦁    15-minute session featuring the Top 15 from Q1 – Top 10 advance to Q3

Grosjean: 15th overall (1:17.254)    
Fastest: Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes (1:15.309) 

Q3 Rundown: 

⦁    12-minute session featuring the Top 10 from Q2

Pole Winner: Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes (1:15.144)
Second: Valtteri Bottas of Mercedes (1:15.203)

 

Recap

Haas F1 Team drivers Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen qualified 15th and 20th, respectively, for Sunday’s Tuscan Grand Prix, the ninth round of the 2020 FIA Formula One World Championship at Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello.

Grosjean and Magnussen had two sets of Pirelli’s P Zero Red soft tires at their disposal in qualifying’s opening Q1 session. Magnussen banked a 1:17.932 on his first set before improving to a 1:17.348 on his second set – the Dane placing 20th on the timesheets. Grosjean opened his account with a 1:17.584. He too picked up speed on his second outing clocking a 1:17.069 to graduate into Q2 in 14th – the Frenchman’s third Q2 appearance of the season.

Q2 again saw Grosjean log two flying runs on fresh softs. It was his first attempt that proved fastest, a 1:17.254 around the flowing 5.245-kilometer (3.259-mile), 15-turn circuit. It placed him 15th overall at the checkered.

Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes claimed top spot on the grid for the Tuscan Grand Prix, the seventh pole of the season for the British driver and his 95th career Formula One pole. His Q3 fast lap of 1:15.144 beat teammate and second-place qualifier Valtteri Bottas by .059 of a second.

 

Romain Grosjean, Driver No. 8, Haas F1 Team

“Q2, as I said at Silverstone, that’s our current target for the short-term in qualifying. So, that’s the positive today. The Q2 runs weren’t that good. I didn’t have a tow on my first run, and for us that’s costly here. The lap was good, we were just missing straight line speed. I just went for it on my second lap. I guess at turn one I picked up a big gust of wind – the rear of the car completely snapped. I was down four tenths already, so it was game over from the first corner. I can’t say for the race how we’ll go. In all fairness, I didn’t do the long run yesterday with the issues we had on my car. I’m pretty sure tires are going to have a tough time. Let’s see, at least for us, how much of an issue surface overheating is. I’m a bit worried but let’s hope I’m wrong. But what a track to drive. Turns six to 10 you’re flat out – that’s absolutely mega.”

 

Kevin Magnussen, Driver No. 20, Haas F1 Team

“I’m pretty surprised to be where I am. It didn’t feel bad, the car’s gotten better and better all weekend long. When I was driving that last lap, I thought it was going to be ok, it didn’t feel too bad. I had one of the Williams car’s go off in the gravel at turn seven, there was a lot of gravel and dust coming up. I had to lift off a little bit, which maybe cost me a tenth or so. That meant I was dead last as it’s so tight here. It was a little bit unlucky, but honestly it felt much better than it was. Given the surprise of today, not being as competitive as we thought, it’s hard to have too big an expectation for the race tomorrow. As always, we’ll do what we can to try to make it up in the race.”

 

Guenther Steiner, Team Principal, Haas F1 Team

“After a good FP3 to start the day, we were hoping for a little bit more in qualifying. At least the good point is we got one car into Q2 – at the moment that is the best we can do. We’re always doing the best that we can. The drivers are pretty happy with the car, but we’re just not fast enough. Tomorrow is another day. Starting from 15th will be tough to get into the points, but if you don’t try, you don’t get. At some stage we will get lucky – somewhere, sometime, it may be far away, but it will come.”