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Raikkonen takes pole for Italian GP

Published on 01 Sep 2018 16:00
7
By: Fergal Walsh

Kimi Raikkonen has bagged pole position for the Italian Grand Prix, beating teammate Sebastian Vettel to the top spot. The Finn takes his first pole position since the 2017 Monaco Grand Prix, and his second since re-joining Ferrari in 2014.

Raikkonen set a lap time of 1:19.119 to go over a tenth a half faster than Vettel. Ferrari seemed to be destined for 2nd and 3rd as Lewis Hamilton set the fastest time after the first run in the final qualifying session.

However, both Ferraris and Mercedes improved on their final laps. Vettel crossed the line first to pip Hamilton, before Raikkonen came home to secure a Ferrari one-two for Sunday's grid.

Hamilton was aiming to take a hat-trick of pole positions but had to settle for 3rd on the grid. He will line-up alongside his teammate Valtteri Bottas, who was over half a second down on his compatriot Raikkonen's pole time.

Despite fears from Red Bull that it might get beaten by Haas or Force India, Max Verstappen held on to secure 5th on the grid. Daniel Ricciardo dropped out in Q2, failing to set a lap time as he will descend towards the back after taking on a new engine this weekend.

Romain Grosjean claimed the 'best of the rest' spot, setting a time just three-tenths down on Verstappen. The Frenchman will be aiming to add to his points tally amid question marks over his future in Formula 1.

Carlos Sainz was 7th, ahead of Esteban Ocon. The pair, who will lock out the fourth row on Sunday's grid, were separated by less than a tenth. Pierre Gasly was P9, while Lance Stroll took his best qualifying finish of the year, rounding out the top ten.

Kevin Magnussen and Fernando Alonso will be taking a trip to the Steward's office following a wheel-to-wheel battle going into Turn 1. The pair wrecked their final laps in Q2, and qualified in 11th and 13th respectively. Sergey Sirotkin ended up between them.

Ricciardo and Nico Hulkenberg both dropped out in Q2, but both are set to start at the back of the field due to penalties. As well as dropping ten places due to causing a collision at Spa, Hulkenberg has been fitted with an entirely new power unit this weekend.

Sergio Perez was the shock exit from Q1. The Mexican missed out on the next stage by one-thousandth of a second, while Charles Leclerc failed to advance by two-thousandths. Brendon Hartley, Marcus Ericsson and Stoffel Vandoorne rounded out the timesheet.

Fergal Walsh

F1Grand Prix Italy - Qualifying

Monza - 01 September 2018

Driver

Team

Time

Difference

Laps
1

Kimi Räikkönen

Ferrari

1:19.119

20
2

Sebastian Vettel

Ferrari

1:19.280

+0.161

19
3

Lewis Hamilton

Mercedes

1:19.294

+0.175

19
4

Valtteri Bottas

Mercedes

1:19.656

+0.537

18
5

Max Verstappen

Red Bull Racing

1:20.615

+1.496

15
6

Romain Grosjean

Haas F1

1:20.936

+1.817

21
7

Carlos Sainz jr

Renault

1:21.041

+1.922

17
8

Esteban Ocon

Racing Point

1:21.099

+1.980

17
9

Pierre Gasly

Toro Rosso

1:21.350

+2.231

24
10

Lance Stroll

Williams

1:21.627

+2.508

14

Q2
11

Kevin Magnussen

Haas F1

1:21.699

+2.580

12
12

Sergey Sirotkin

Williams

1:21.732

+2.613

13
13

Fernando Alonso

McLaren

1:22.568

+3.449

14
14

Nico Hülkenberg

Renault

no time

12
15

Daniel Ricciardo

Red Bull Racing

no time

3

Q1
16

Sergio Perez

Racing Point

1:21.888

+2.769

5
17

Charles Leclerc

Sauber

1:21.889

+2.770

10
18

Brendon Hartley

Toro Rosso

1:21.934

+2.815

12
19

Marcus Ericsson

Sauber

1:22.048

+2.929

10
20

Stoffel Vandoorne

McLaren

1:22.085

+2.966

9

Danimal5981

Posts: 429

Fastest lap ever, wow! That was history being made. Get in there, Kimi!

1
Sep 1 2018 - 16:15

F1 News Sebastian Vettel Kimi Räikkönen

Replies (7)

Danimal5981

Posts: 429
Fastest lap ever, wow! That was history being made. Get in there, Kimi!
- + 1
- Sep 1 2018 - 16:15
f1fan0101

Posts: 1,804
Nice one. Should be a very interesting race now
- + 1
- Sep 1 2018 - 16:18
mcbhargav

Posts: 1,332
Impressive run from Romain, Ocon, and Stroll.
- + 0
- Sep 1 2018 - 17:33
- calle.itw
  
  Posts: 8,527
  And Gasly.
  + 0
  
  Sep 2 2018 - 08:22
xoya

Posts: 583
In tomorrow's race, Ferrari be like: "Kimi, Sebastian is faster. than. you."
- + 0
- Sep 1 2018 - 19:53
- Kean
  
  Posts: 692
  I'm thinking Vettel will beat Räikkönen to the first corner. Räikkönen's starts have been sub-par.
  + 0
  
  Sep 1 2018 - 21:48
- calle.itw
  
  Posts: 8,527
  Yeah, probably with or without Kimi's cooperation, I think this is a Vettel run, unless he repeats Hockenheim *moans in intense pain*
  + 0
  
  Sep 2 2018 - 08:22