Sometimes there are qualifying sessions that will live long in the memory - sessions that we look back on fondly with a wry smile. Like the Friday qualifying event for the 2003 French GP - when Minardi finished 1st and 2nd... that was a good day. Alas back then the Friday qualifying didn't matter too much as it just determined the order for the single lap qualifying event on Saturday and sadly Minardi were relegated to their traditional back row. Today we saw a session which didn't quite live up those standards, nor did it match the chaotic rain influenced qualifying events we've seen at Interlagos, Spa and Silverstone over the years. The difference in engine power often splits the performance levels between teams and dictates the ultimate grid positions. As practice illustrated - if you happen to have Mercedes or Ferrari power - it was going to be a far easier Saturday for you. Otherwise the hallowed ground of the top ten would prove to be a little too elusive. But we could still have a battle for the pole position... well we hoped but that too became a little more than a lofty ideal. At the end of FP3, Rosberg had to replace his upgraded power unit with one of the used, older specification engines putting him at a disadvantage before the first green light of the day. Because this was a previously used engine, there was no penalty for the change - unlike the numerous grid penalties suffered by McLaren and Red Bull.
Q1
Manor started the session with Will Stevens being the first car to take to the track. The rain that was initially forecast for Saturday did materialise - but far earlier in the day, and thus it had dried before qualifying had started sadly. The rest of the grid filtered out of pit lane and decided to take part... that is except Mad Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo who were remained in the garage while repairs were to be made to their cars. Of those on track, it was inevitable that a factory Mercedes was going to be sitting at the top of the time sheet - and considering only one of those cars has the newest iteration of the Mercedes engine it stands to reason that it was Lewis Hamilton setting the initial pace. The other factory team car in the hands of Nico Rosberg could only manage 5th
Down in the relegation zone, it initially appeared that only one non-Manor GP car would be relegated with two Red Bull sponsored cars still in the pits. Therefore Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso were fighting over the right to take part in Q2. For the moment it was Alonso that was in one of the coveted promotion places, but that position became a little more tenuous as Daniel Ricciardo emerged from the garage to complete a token lap time. Even if the Red Bull was not going to be running on full beans, given the huge number of grid penalties heading his way, the car could easily displace the Spaniard and knock the McLaren out of qualifying. As the Australian took to the track McLaren's grasp on Q2 slipped away - finally falling out of reach when Ricciardo took away Alonso's promotion place. Mad Max Verstappen also took to the track but too late to complete a full lap, aiming only to set a couple of sector times in the hope that it would influence the order the penalties are handed out. There was one minor problem, the Toro Rosso team hadn't quite put the car back together properly before releasing the Dutchman. So on the approach to Curva Grande, Verstappen's car disrobed itself - shedding carbon fibre all over the track at the conclusion of the session.
Q2
The second part of qualifying got underway, but it seemed as if no-one had told the rest of the paddock that it was time to get started. Eventually some drivers did part company with the security of their garages and take to the circuit to actually set some lap times. By virtue of being on track first Nico Rosberg ended up with the fastest time, but it wasn't for too long. Hamilton easily replaced his team-mate at the top of the timesheet, carving an 0.8s lead over the German. A few moments later, Lewis Hamilton found himself heading a different German - because Sebastian Vettel had elevated himself to second place, between the two Mercedes cars. Then another Ferrari joined the party as Kimi Raikkonen took over the second place - putting two Ferraris between the two Mercedes drivers.
Conventionally in this middle session, there is a lot of competition between a quantity of cars for the remaining top ten places - but that didn't quite happen today. The gulf in power between Renault and everyone else meant they had no real hope of being quick enough to challenge for a route into Q3. That left 12 cars fighting over the top ten places - even then only 10 of them had shown consistent top ten pace. Sauber were on the cusp of stealing a place from one of the Mercedes powered cars, but hadn't achieved it thus far in the session. Until Marcus Ericsson upped his game and delivered a very strong lap time to move him into 8th place. This came at the expense of Pastor Maldonado who was bumped down to 11th. The Venezuelan tried to repay the favour but fell a few hundredths short of 10th placed Hulkenberg's time, and was thusly relegated.
Q3
Ten cars remained, and not a single Renault powered car in sight, I daresay there may be some cross comments from various members of the Red Bull fraternity given the fact they are behind every other current engine iteration, barring Honda. Alas of those who did make it through, the final session got underway with Williams and Mercedes taking to the track first. Williams were trying the traditional Monza technique of using one car to deliver a slipstream tow to the other one. In this instance Valtteri Bottas towed Massa down the front straight - giving the Brazilian an advantage across the main straight. But their plan didn't help them come to terms with the might of the Mercedes team, nor could it propel them ahead of Ferrari at the end of the first run. Nico Rosberg was also reporting a handling issue in conjunction with the power disadvantage. Making it rather easy for Hamilton to finish the first half of Q3 on top. Nico however could only manage 6th place. The other Nico - Hulkenberg that is - was even worse shape as his Force India ground to a halt at the end of his lap. Fortunately he was able to get it into the pit lane and prevent a session red flag.
The Bonus Points Championship Points Winners
Even through the session wasn't exactly enthralling, and the engine dictating performance more than anything else - points still have to be awarded, and these are as follows.
- 10pts - Kimi Raikkonen - On Ferrari's home turf the Finn finally taken over the mantle as Mercedes main challenger and on the front row
- 8pts - Marcus Ericsson - For getting the Sauber into Q3, at the expense of one of the Mercedes powered cars
- 6pts - Lewis Hamilton - Topped all three sessions virtually unopposed
- 5pts - Carlos Sainz -
- 4pts - Mitch Evans - From last place to a podium finish in the GP2 race is certainly worth some bonus points
- 3pts - Romain Grosjean - Scores the points for the coolest sideways slide captured by the slow-motion camera in the Ascari chicane.
- 2pts - Will Stevens - Pulled back the resurgence that Merhi has been experiencing for the past few races
- 1pts - Max Verstappen - That Toro Rosso does look rather cool with the bodywork spread across the track.
Looking Forward to Sunday
Well the Italian GP has in the past been the home of some spectacular racing and some brilliant races - this probably isn't going to be one of them. Although we don't have a Mercedes 1-2 on the grid, we probably will have one at the end of the race. Ferrari might throw an upset if they can get in front of Hamilton during the long run to the Rettifilo chicane, and things might get quite interesting. Here's hoping - that opening lap will prove crucial tomorrow, and the rest of the race will probably be defined by the exit of the Variante Della Roggia. But lets see what happens.
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