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Pierre Gasly will start from
pole position for the Formula 1 Pirelli Gran Premio d’Italia at Monza. On
the track where he claimed his maiden Formula 1 victory, the Alpine driver
secured the first pole position of his career with a time of 1:21.786. Gasly
edged out George Russell and Oscar Piastri: the Mercedes driver posted a
1:21.846, while the McLaren racer stopped the clocks at 1:21.966.
Throughout qualifying, drivers ran predominantly on the Soft compound, with
the exception of George Russell and Liam Lawson, who initially opted for the
Medium in Q1. Russell set the fastest time of the opening session on the C4,
while Lawson improved later after switching to the C5. All three qualifying
sessions took place in very hot conditions, with air temperatures exceeding
35°C and track temperatures reaching 49°C. Similar conditions are forecast
for tomorrow’s race.
Russell was quickest in FP3 with a lap of
1:22.219. Lewis Hamilton finished second, ahead of Max Verstappen. Only the
Medium and Soft compounds were used during the session. Alex Albon completed
the highest number of laps on the same set of Soft tyres with 19 laps, while
Pierre Gasly logged the most laps on the same set of Mediums with 17.
The Pirelli Pole Position Award was presented by Federica Brignone. The
Italian alpine skier, Olympic champion in the super-G and giant slalom at
the Milano Cortina 2026 Games, also boasts three additional Olympic medals,
five World Championship medals, two overall World Cup titles and five
discipline World Cups. |
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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."
FORMULA 2
Joshua Dürksen claimed victory in the Monza Sprint Race. The driver managed
to keep John Bennett behind him, with Bennett finishing second at the
chequered flag, while Oliver Goethe completed the podium in third place.
Rafael Câmara will start tomorrow’s Feature Race from pole position.
FORMULA 3
Saturday’s Formula 3 Sprint Race was won by Taito Kato. Behind him, Freddie
Slater secured second place, while Hiyu Yamakoshi completed the podium in
third. Thanks to his runner-up finish in the Sprint Race, Slater was able to
extend his championship lead over his closest rival, Ugo Ugochukwu. |
