VALTTERI BOTTAS SECOND SPEEDKING OF 2021 F1 SEASON

The opening segment of qualifying was run at frenetic pace, with traffic proving a constant issue as drivers sought the best window for their laps. Verstappen was one of those to suffer and after posting an opening time of 1:22.108 his second flyer, aimed at raising him from P10, the Dutchman was hampered by three slow-running cars ahead and was forced into a third attempt. He made no mistake on his final flying lap, however, and vaulted to third, behind Hamilton and Bottas.

George Russell set to be eliminate in 16th place after failing to make the most of his final flying lap, but the Briton was granted a reprieve when AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda fell foul of track limits and the Japanese driver’s time was deleted.

It meant that Russell’s team-mate Nicholas Latifi was the first to exit the session in P16, followed by Tsunoda, Haas’ Mick Schumacher, Alfa Romeo’s Robert Kubica and the second Haas of Nikita Mazepin.

In Q2 Hamilton seized control of P1 with his first flyer of the segment. Verstappen struggled to get close to that time and at the end of the opening runs he sat in sixth place, over seven tenths of a second adrift of his title rival.

Verstappen’s team-mate Sergio Perez was at even greater risk and ahead of the final runs he lay in 10th place, just a couple of hundredths of a second clear of Alpine’s Esteban Ocon. Perez led his team-mate out of the pit lane for the final runs, aiming to give Verstappen a tow and that meant the Mexican would endure a nervy end to the session.

While his assist helped Vesrtappen to jump to an eventual fourth place behind Hamilton, Bottas and McLaren’s Lando Norris, Perez’s final lap was only good enough to raise him to eighth as the final laps came in. He began to slide back but his luck held and his fall halted in a safe P10.

Eliminated at the end of Q2 in 11th and 12th place respectively were Sebastian Vettel and Lance Stroll with the Aston Martin drivers being followed out of the session by the Alpine cars of Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon and the Williams of George Russell.

If the second segment had suggested that Red Bull were struggling for pace at power sensitive Monza then Verstappen dispelled that notion in the first run of Q3. Hamilton set the pace, but thanks to a tow from team-mate Perez, Verstappen was able to put in a lap just 0.017s behind the Mercedes AMG driver to a provisional front-row.

It looked like being a close call between the two title contenders in the final runs but in the end it was Bottas who took the spoils. Profiting from a tow from Hamilton, the Finn powered to top spot. Hamilton, a tenth behind, took second and Verstappen, who failed to improve on his final flyer, qualified third.

Fourth place went to Norris, with McLaren team-mate Daniel Ricciardo in fifth ahead of the AlphaTauri of Pierre Gasly. Carlos Sainz narrowly beat team-mate Charles Leclerc as Ferrari finished seventh and eighth and Perez who had again aided Verstappen with a tow ended up in ninth place just ahead of Alfa Romeo’s Antonio Giovinazzi.

2021 ITALIAN GP - QUALIFYING
P.	DRIVER	TEAM	TIME	GAP
1.	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes AMG	1:19.555
2.	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes AMG	1:19.651	+ 0.096
3.	Max Verstappen	Red Bull	1:19.967	+ 0.411
4.	Lando Norris	McLaren	1:19.989	+ 0.434
5.	Daniel Ricciardo	McLaren	1:19.995	+ 0.440
6.	Pierre Gasly	AlphaTauri	1:20.260	+ 0.705
7.	Carlos Sainz Jr.	Ferrari	1:20.462	+ 0.907
8.	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	1:20.510	+ 0.955
9.	Sergio Perez	Red Bull	1:20.611	+ 1.056
10.	Antonio Giovinazzi	Alfa Romeo	1:20.808	+ 1.253
Q2 Fastest Time: Lewis Hamilton - 1:19.936
11.	Sebastian Vettel	Aston Martin	1:20.915	+ 0.977
12.	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin	1:21.020	+ 1.084
13.	Fernando Alonso	Alpine	1:21.069	+ 1.133
14.	Esteban Ocon	Alpine	1:21.103	+ 1.167
15.	George Russell	Williams	1:21.392	+ 1.456
Q1 Fastest Time: Lewis Hamilton - 1:20.543
16.	Nicholas Latifi	Williams	1:21.043	+ 1.382
17.	Yuki Tsunoda	AlphaTauri	1:21.062	+ 1.430
18.	Mick Schumacher	Haas	1:22.254	+ 1.705
19.	Robert Kubica	Alfa Romeo	1:22.738	+ 1.987
20.	Nikita Mazepin	Haas	1:22.051	+ 2.173
107% time: 1:26.181
HYBRID ERA - MONZA 2014 Lewis Hamilton - Mercedes AMG - 1:24.109 2015 Lewis Hamilton - Mercedes AMG - 1:23.397 2016 Lewis Hamilton - Mercedes AMG - 1:21.135 2017 Lewis Hamilton - Mercedes AMG - 1:35.554 2018 Kimi Raikkonen - Ferrari - 1:19.119 2019 Charles Leclerc - Ferrari - 1:19.307 2020 Lewis Hamilton - Mercedes AMG - 1:18.887 2021 Valtteri Bottas - Mercedes AMG - 1:19.555 @МкФормула1 - РЕПУБЛИКА МАКЕДОНИЈА @MkFormula1 - REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA