Italian GP 2022
Monza qualifying brought the Italian fans the pole man they wanted. Charles Leclerc sped away from everyone. Red Bull remained under their own means, Mercedes completely disappeared. We've collected the images from the fastest qualifier of the year.
Small wings, little downforce, high speeds, a few hard braking zones and enthusiastic fans in the stands: Monza knows how to entertain. That was also the case in this year's qualification. There was no big chaos with pack formation on the route. Although the drivers were looking for a suitable slipstream, they rarely stood in each other's way. We experienced that differently in the high-speed temple. But the many penalties were all the more confusing.
One always had the perspective. Charles Leclerc came to the Ferrari home game as an underdog. Everyone expected Max Verstappen and Red Bull to be the measure of things again. They weren't on Saturday. Ferrari let its fans carry it and Red Bull didn't steal the show. With an average speed of 260.161 km/h, Leclerc burned the fastest lap of the year into the asphalt.
Qualifying highlights in the gallery
The Tifosi in the stands were thrilled. The dream of a home win is alive. But Verstappen and Red Bull should never be written off. Even if the world champion was banned from the first row, which was actually driven out, due to a penalty for an unauthorized engine change. Verstappen took the defeat in qualification casually. He knows he will have a fast race car. Victory remains possible.
No driver exceeded the 350 km/h mark. But that's just a number. The speeds are still breathtaking. The drivers prance with their cars at the limit when they step on the irons before the chicanes. Sometimes they go beyond that and kick up the gravel with their tires. There was no accident. They missed the curve at most and tobogganed through the run-off zones.
Mercedes cut a bad figure. As soon as you have to turn the W13 up because of the bumps, the Silver Arrows fall back more than a second. Sebastian Vettel and Mick Schumacher would like to have such problems. The two German drivers in the field already failed in the first qualifying round. Neither the ex-Ferrari driver nor the Ferrari junior have reason to be happy in Monza.
