Matt 'Trumpets' Ragsdale breaks down the enthrawling qualifying session in Monza, Italy, in a way only he can...
Ambient 19° Track 28° Humidity 54%
Wind 0.6 m/s
Prelude
IT was a stark contrast of leaden grey
sky, black clouds on the horizon and occasional patches of golden sun
that lit the track for FP3. Much like the varying fortunes of the 2
teams that now are locked in a fierce battle for both the WDC and
WCC, it is Ferrari that appear to be ascendant with Mercedes left
shaking their heads. Still, there was less than a hundredth or so
between Hamilton and Vettel at the end of it all, but that made
Ferrari on top in all 3 practice sessions, which never bodes well for
the Silver Arrows, barring rain of course, which was predicted at
about an 80% chance for qualifying.
It was a drying track at the start of
the last practice session, and the track started off fairly greasy
with times improving throughout. The early damp caught out Vettel who
had a massive lock up which spoiled his early times, and left Kimi to
rule the top of the leaderboard. Hamilton was unhappy with his early
set up as Mercedes were on about saving tyres, but he dutifully went
about his business once he'd registered his complaint, going P2 and
looking strong in the twisty bits (well, relatively speaking) of S1.
This does seem to be a bit of a pattern, and both Ferrari's were
ferocious in the latter 2 sectors. In fact, it wasn't until his final
run right before the chequers, that Hamilton was able to get close
enough to make it look like a contest for qualifying.
Of the sharp end, both Ricciardo and
Bottas seemed a bit nowhere, with Bottas the bigger surprise,
struggling to stay within half a second of his teammate. Danny Rick
OTOH a bit of a given now he's made his bed with a new team, not a
surprise to see him wandering further afield as he's been barred from
just about everything but the paddock during the race weekend by RBR.
HAAS announced they'd made the suspension breakthrough they needed to
get their new floor to work properly, and K-Mag demonstrated it by
being best of the rest by nearly two tenths when the dust had
settled. Ocon was next in line as RoGro had a very trafficky and
fraught effort and then was shut down due to mileage concerns as he
was denied one last go by the team. Perez, too had issues, getting
wide over the sausage kerbs and breaking some strakes off that gave
him a permanent and uncurable case of understeer that did him no
favours, but was easily fixable for qualifying.
Other broken things included the FIA
tyre tender, of which Michelin (long a favourite of Jean Todt) has
apparently decided not to partake of due to the odd timing. The
tender runs from 2020, meaning that any new supplier would have to
supply 13" wheels for a sole year, before switching to 18"
wheels when all the rest of the regulations change for 2021 and (at
least currently) 18" wheels will be the new standard. This
leaves just Hankook and Pirelli to fight it out, with a bit of an
advantage to Pirelli, as at least they won't have the same spend
given they've been producing 13" wheels for the entirety of the
time they returned to the sport, as opposed to Hankook, for whom it
would all be new.
As time ran short and qualifying drew
near, reports of light rain at Parabolica began to circulate, clearly
nasty looking clouds hanging about the circuit, changing the calculus
for pole position. If the Mercedes could be said to be dominant, it
is decidedly so in the hands of Hamilton when it rains. A stark
reminder that, as in many other things, success often is down as much
to luck in addition to skill...
Summary
Green Light!! The cruel gods of racing
were in full view as all round the circuit showers were popping up
within full view of the circuit, teasing viewers with the possibility
of a full chaos event during the session. Hartley was first out, the
moment the pits opened, followed at a decent interval by Leclerc.
Then the dam burst, and it was Gasly, Sirotkin, Ericsson et al., and
at the back of that train Vettel wandered out, roughly a full minute
after the start of Q1. Raikkonen and Stroll made it out, then Hartley
was off on his first hotlap, guaranteeing at least a few moments at
the top of the timing sheets for the plucky Toro Rosso team.
Vettel had managed to get round all the
traffic and to a large roar from the crowd set off in pursuit of pole
just as Hartley set his first time, going P1 with a 1:23.684 till
Leclerc toppled him seconds later with a 1:23.097. AS Vettel
completed his S3 with around 13 minutes left, Mercedes were out of
the pitlane and in rapid succession it was Vettel with a 1:21.538
then Raikkonen with a 1:20.937 to the top as the both Mercedes were
halfway through their outlap.
S1 saw now purples for either Mercedes,
but S2 saw that reverse, Hamilton taking the honour there, but S3 did
him in, and it was P2, as Vettel, still out, was on another push lap
behind and cleaned up his first effort, aided by several laps of fuel
burn no doubt, and rocked up to a 1:20.758, cutting very short
Hamilton's time at the top. Raikkonen rubbed a bit of salt into that
wound by then dropping Lewis to P3.
8 minutes left and best of the rest was
Ocon, just two tenths off the pair of Bottas and Verstappen, who had
managed to run an identical to the thousandth 1:21.381, with Bottas
ahead as his time was set first. HAAS had just set their first times,
and were P8 for Magnussen and P12 for Grosjean and at the interval,
as the rest of the teams retired to reset for their final gasp, it
was Hulkenberg (already starting at the back due to penalties)
Ericsson, Gasly, Hartley and Ricciardo (also with penalties sending
him to the back) on the outside looking in as the clock ticked over 4
minutes to go.
Ricciardo was onto it first, past
Hamilton as he lazed around on his outlap, a neat and tidy effort
that left him P4, as a second effort from RoGro promoted him to P10,
before Alonso bounced him to P11. Down to 2 minutes and now it was
Stroll, Vandoorne, Hartley, Gasly and Hulkenberg as they were down to
their final chances.
Leclerc was leading the train, P13 and
hit the line with less than a minute left. Perez was garaged in P12,
and in significant danger. KMag chunked his last effort, but in P9
was likely safe as the last seconds dripped off. Ericsson trailed
Leclerc (tactics much) but to no avail, with no improvement for
Sauber. Alonso led Vandoorne, Gasly led Hartley but it was Stroll to
P12 all on his own. Sirotkin to P11 and then Gasly knocked Stroll
back to P13 with Alonso and Grosjean the last two to make the
transfer.
Done like a dinner were Perez, Leclerc,
Hartley, Ericsson and Vandoorne with Force India the big loser, their
attempt to save tyres having put Sergio out of qualifying by 0.001
seconds. Ouch!! Even for Vandoorne, dead last, he was just 0.2
seconds off his teammate. Nevertheless, off for some bruschetta they
were as the rest readied their chariots for the next go round.
Q2 opened with HAAS leading the way,
followed by Gasly and Hamilton. Bottas dutifully sallied forth and
then Alonso and Raikkonen followed. AS K-Mag hit Parabolica,
Verstappen and Vettel were off and then the it was on. Magnussen took
too much speed into della Roggia and was into the gravel and just
behind Grosjean rocked by his teammate and was off. Yoicks!! P2 for
RoGro and then it was a 1:19.798 for Hamilton. Raikkonen then went P2
with a 1:20.232 and Vettel behind was purpling sectors and went just
0.013 seconds faster but there was some question as to whether track
limits were exceeded through Parabolica (argue amongst yourselves
over that). Juicy result and the fight was well and truly on. Ocon
wound up at the top of the Formula B times and a last minute call to
the weighbridge saw Bottas spin on a wet patch as he attempted to
comply with the order as his tyres were on a wet patch.
7 minutes to go, and Grosjean Gasly and
Sainz were the only runners circulating, finishing their inlaps as
the track cleared for last minute adjustments. Alonso, Hulkenberg,
Ricciardo, Sirotkin and Stroll were all in the drop zone, with the
latter three having yet to set a time.
4 minutes later and still the track was
clear, then finally, Mercedes broke the quiet, Bottas then Hamilton
(who's slipstreaming who) then Vettel, Sirotkin, Gasly, Stroll, well,
pretty much everyone but Ricciardo who was done for the day due to
his penalties. Bottas hit the line with 45 seconds left and off they
went with a bit of dicing at the back, Alonso and one of the HAAS'
alongside into the first turn. Vettel managed to eke up a tenth, no
improvement for either Mercedes. At the back, the big mover was
Stroll to P8 while K-Mag let down the side. On replay, it was Alonso
who rather ruined the HAAS drivers lap, as Fernando tried to overtake
him into T1 having grabbed a big slipstream and they wound up
hammering into each other through the chicane and out of Q3.
So K-Mag, Sirotkin, Alonso, Hulkenberg
and Ricciardo were all done for the day. off for some limoncello as
it looked like Steiner and Brown were about to throw down on telly,
neither happy with the other's driver, but HAAS with far more
cause....
The top 10 got themselves ready for the ultimate glory of Q3 as Magnussen trashed Alonso on a post tangle interview on BBC.
📻 ALO: "Magnussen wanted to race into Turn 1!"— Formula 1 (@F1) September 1, 2018
Both Alonso and Magnussen miss out on Q3 after fighting in Turn 1 ⚔️ #ItalianGP 🇮🇹 #F1 pic.twitter.com/MWnwsZzuqb
The top 10 got themselves ready for the ultimate glory of Q3 as Magnussen trashed Alonso on a post tangle interview on BBC.
Ocon was first off in Q3 with nearly a
minute run off the clock, followed by Gasly and Grosjean in the final
qualifying session. They had the track to themselves, and it was Ocon
purpling the track, being chased at about a 20 second interval by the
other two. As they turned for home, the big boys came out to play,
Vettel, Raikkonen, Verstappen, Hamilton, Bottas and Sainz, with
Stroll looking to just rock home with one run, tyres generally being
at a premium in the Williams garage due to their rather poor usage of
them. RoGro pipped Ocon by a tenth with Gasly about a half second
back.
Early days it was Hamilton with the
advantage in S1 as Vettel turned up the pressure in S2. S3 and Vettel
was home in a 1:19.497, then Raikkonen was EVEN faster, a 1:19.459
and then Hamilton cruised in with a 1.19.39 despite the Ferrari
advantage in the last 2 sectors. Vettel was slower than Hamilton in
S3, and that's where the big difference was made on the first runs.
Verstappen was first out for the final
runs, 2 minutes left as the field rolled out on their outlaps. Vettel
led Raikkonen, whereas Bottas led Hamilton, the midfield at the tail
of the train and Vettel looking like he might want to steal a bit of
Hamilton's slipstream as the rocked down the straight towards their
last chance at glory. Raikkonen was fastest in S1, Bottas purpled S2
as they hammered into Parabolica... Hamilton provisional pole, then
Vettel took the honours away and then, HOLY I need a contract, Kimi
took pole AWAY from Vettel!!!!! Front row lockout for the Scuderia
and the gaps were informative indeed, 0.161 seconds between the
Ferrari teammates, and then another 0.015 seconds to Hamilton, as the
power of the slipstream was undeniable.
Further back it was RoGro confirming
HAAS form (at least when Alonso wasn't driving into them), P6
followed by Sainz, Ocon, Gasly and Stroll. Nice result for both
Williams and Toro Rosso while K-Mag will no doubt be looking to
settle some scores after being punted by Alonso. Bottas beat out
Verstappen for the tweeners (in-between for those not fluent in
America speak) and mentioned set up changes that improved corners but
robbed him of braking performance, as having made his day difficult.
Kudos for Vettel not blaming the slipstream in the interview, and
what a thing, first pole for Raikkonen since who knows when (OK,
Monaco '17), at 38 the oldest pole sitter since Mansell in '94 (can
you tell I follow Sean Kelly on twitter?) and the FASTEST LAP in
Formula 1. Say what you will, these engines with this aero is a
staggering thing and given the gaps tomorrow's race will be a
desperate thing for Mercedes, with no obvious way past for the Silver
Arrows. That said, interesting times at Ferrari as the inevitable
team orders drama rears its head in advance of tomorrow's Grand Prix.
The start will be a thing as well (as ever!!), and the chase of
Ricciardo and Hulkenberg from the back promise to keep the race
animated for those who are worried about a procession...
Discuss!!
What a climax to qualifying!— Formula 1 (@F1) September 1, 2018
Kimi snatches his first pole at Monza since 2006 😲#ItalianGP 🇮🇹 #F1 pic.twitter.com/WBRBu3xm8D
Thanks Matt, I had a "felt like I was there" moment.
ReplyDeleteIf you have a minute to spare, I'd love a reply to my question below the Spa Qually report.
Very nice blog you have here
ReplyDelete