Hamilton leads ahead of qualifying at Monza, Sainz will fight for pole with new engine and Colapinto shines

Ferrari It is in the ointment. He had his two cars with him, the last two pole-sitters inside monzain it F1 Italian GP 2024. Last year, he achieved this Carlos Sainz. The former, Charles Leclerc. The Spaniard was unable to win that 2023 race as his car sank on Sunday due to its high level of wear and tear. This time, things look better but the competition is bigger. Up to 3 different cars, 6 drivers (maybe 7), compete to be on top this afternoon in a very close and exciting classification. And the doubt remains Verstappenwho again had a lot of trouble with a Red Bull difficult to tame.

Carlos Sainz was 7th, three tenths back, but didn’t show his speed in the final turn. Finally, The Spaniard has changed his engine and will have an extra point that will always be available in the ‘Temple of Speed’. So Ferrari chose to have two good cards for the first blow. But things seem very complicated for everyone. On a track where many errors are constantly seen in braking in search of the limit and the perfect lap, the ‘qualy’ seems full of uncertainty.

Mercedes presented the candidacy for the post

So far, Mercedes has shown enormous potential, with Lewis Hamilton leading Free Practice 3 with 93 thousandths of an advantage over his teammate Russell. “The balance of the car is very far…”said George. Well, we don’t want to think what Mercedes could do if they find the key for this track. Today, they presented their candidacy for pole with a double before qualifying with Leclerc in third position as the first Ferrari, 0.109 behind the best time of Lewis, who will be his teammate next year in the red team.

hamilton He wants to show his future fans next year. Before joining the Maranellowants to take home victory away from the Italians, although that will not only depend on today’s qualifying, but also on the graining of the tires on a track with extreme heat in the race.

So far, the race paces seem similar, with McLaren ahead with better tire care. Those in orange would be good candidates to now be the best car on the grid overall on all types of tracks. But Monza is different. An atypical circuit, with minimum load and maximum speed, something that explains why Ferrari can dream big and be in that battle compared to a more ‘normal’ circuit.

Doubts were huge, especially since many pilots had to abort their final laps. The Ferraris couldn’t show their potential in those final laps, Piastreincluding McLarendropped his last lap on the new rubber and so did Pérez. McLaren should remain favorites once the real party against the clock begins.

Verstappen is struggling

Certainly, Red Bull is the main unknown. They suffer again. What was seen in Free Practice 3 does not give Verstappen and ‘Checo’ fans much confidence. The Dutchman again complained that the car “does not turn in low and medium speed curves.” What was seen in Zandvoort is happening again. The car was very understeering, it was sliding a lot at the front end and this meant more tire wear for Sunday too. Red Bull seems out of the equation, although with Verstappen you can never say never.

Fernando Alonso, 11th

Fernando Alonso finished 11th. The middle zone is tremendously even. between The 11th and 16th are only two tenths apart. And Alonso was two tenths behind in 9th. It will be a matter of details. One turn and mistakes will determine, but since it’s so close, tenth can put you 9th or it can put you in 16th place.

Monza is not a circuit that suits the characteristics of Aston Martin, who in last year’s good car already suffered to score points. This year, with a worse car compared to his rivals, Fernando will have to suffer. He will try to get into Q3, but the challenge is too big. Mainly because of the very high top speed in a straight line of Williams and what cars they like RB, Alpine or Haas They might take this route first. Aston Martin is not so optimistic here.

Colapinto continues to add: it’s in the Top-10

Franco Colapinto He grew with each session, got more used to his Williams, and took advantage of his car’s enormous top speed to put himself first all weekend in Top-10. But the best for the Argentine, who made his debut monza as Grove’s official driver for the last 9 races of the year in F1, is that distance to his teammate, Alex Alboncontinues to decrease.

Colapinto finished Free Practice 3, 0.788 off the best time, in 9th position, just behind Albon, who was 8th, 0.479 off the fastest. Franco stayed only three tenths from his highest reference, his partner, and he will fight to get into Q3 in his first F1 classification, something that will be a great success in his debut, yes, in a car that works well in Monza and on a track that he knows perfectly.