Lewis Hamilton will lead the first Mercedes front-row lockout at Monza since 2016 when he starts from pole for tonight’s Formula One Italian Grand Prix. Join The Roar for a live blog and race updates from 11:10pm (AEST).
Onto the eighth race in ten weeks, and even the heavily revised Formula One world championship calendar in 2020 couldn’t stop the famous Monza circuit hosting the Italian Grand Prix.
Now 5.7 kliometres in its layout, the temple of speed that is Monza is still one of the fastest tracks on the calendar, and the 53-lap race is generally one of the quickest all year.
Power here is everything, which is why the all-dominant Mercedes have won five out of six Italian Grands Prix since 2014, with their superior power unit and all-round package no match for their rivals. That looks set to continue this weekend.
The ban on using multiple engine modes this weekend was thought likely to hamper the world champions, but if anything it now seems destined to benefit them more come race day, with less stress to be put on the engine without changing power maps.
Lewis Hamilton commands a 47-point lead in the championship over Max Verstappen, but regardless of the gap the Dutchman’s Red Bull Racing outfit still believe their man to be a contender for the title. Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas is 50 points behind in third.
But having shown a new level of consistency and a reluctance to make any mistakes this year so far, the outlook is bleak for anyone to stop Hamilton from leaving Monza with a sixth Italian Grand Prix victory.
The Briton will start from the pole, with teammate Bottas joining him on the front row. The only opportunity the Finn will likely have to win this race is to get the better start and lead into the first chicane.
Behind the Mercedes pair is an intriguing battle for third, as the luckless Carlos Sainz qualified at the head of the second row ahead of Sergio Perez. However, Max Verstappen from fifth has demonstrated better race pace, so will the Dutchman make light work of the cars ahead or be in a four-car race over the final podium place?
What a difference a year has made for Ferrari. The Italian team won in front of their adoring tifosi in 2019 thanks to an emphatic drive from Charles Leclerc from pole, but they’ll struggling to even score points at their home grand prix from 13th and 17th on the grid.
It is one of the most special races in Formula One, so be sure to tune in from 11:10pm (AEST) on The Roar for live blog coverage of the Italian Grand Prix.
Lights out: 11:10pm (AEST)
Venue: Autodromo Nazionale Monza, Italy
TV: Fox Sports
Online: Kayo Sports, Foxtel
2019 winner: Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
Grid
1. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), 2. Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes)
3. Carlos Sainz (McLaren), 4. Sergio Perez (Racing Point)
5. Max Verstappen (Red Bull Racing), 6. Lando Norris (McLaren)
7. Daniel Ricciardo (Renault), 8. Lance Stroll (Racing Point)
9. Alexander Albon (Red Bull Racing), 10. Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri)
11. Daniil Kvyat (AlphaTauri), 12. Esteban Ocon (Renault)
13. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari), 14. Kimi Raikkonen (Alfa Romeo)
15. Kevin Magnussen (Haas), 16. Romain Grosjean (Haas)
17. Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari), 18. Antonio Giovinazzi (Alfa Romeo)
19. George Russell (Williams), 20. Nicholas Latifi (Williams)
Micko
Roar Rookie
Strange. So RP just accept that fine and loss of points now apparently. I wonder what changed Stroll Snr's mind?
Joshua Kerr
Roar Guru
Hey Micko, I missed this one yesterday because I was avoiding the Supercars results so avoided my usual news apps. Racing Point withdrew their appeal against their €400,000 fine and 15 constructors point penalty yesterday. Renault had already withdrawn their counter appeal like I said as did Ferrari once RP had announced the withdrawal of their appeal. So it's all done and dusted. https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.racing-point-withdraw-appeal-against-stewards-verdict-on-rp20-brake-ducts.7AHXiQUy5H79Ca1vhLuyec.html
Joshua Kerr
Roar Guru
Yup, he will be rueing that but, now the dust has settled, he'll surely take a third-place finish. Gasly and Sainz may still have got past him, who knows? But that stuff is all hypothetical, and you know how much I dislike anything hypothetic.
Micko
Roar Rookie
And to think Stroll butchered his possibly only ever genuine chance at an F1 GP win when second from the restart, and with HAM still to serve the penalty! :stoked:
Joshua Kerr
Roar Guru
Both standing starts didn't go well for Max today!
Joshua Kerr
Roar Guru
Oh gosh they all probably miss the call :laughing: Marko may be bad but he's not that bad so long as you do actually return the call at some point! Lovely to have a good chat with you Micko. I'm off for a dinner break, catch you later :thumbup:
Micko
Roar Rookie
I wonder what would happen if Albon refused that call?! :shocked: :stoked:
Joshua Kerr
Roar Guru
There was a point in 2015 Micko where there was a story going through the rumour mill about Dietrich Mateschitz, owner of the whole Red Bull brand, threatening to pull the plug on the F1 team if results didn't improve. The team's culture is one where success is put on the highest rung, and the problem is while Max Verstappen is around, the other driver is expected to match him. Yes, you should aim for that but you do need to offer a level of support to the other driver too and understand that development takes time. Marko is known for an early morning phone call to his drivers! Max has admitted that he doesn't answer and grabs some more sleep! A Marko phone call is not always a good one to take!
Joshua Kerr
Roar Guru
Oh yeah, of course, I need to go back a bit there. Obviously, RP will still go to the Court of Appeal to clear their name because if they accept the penalty, they're accepting that they are guilty. Got that a bit wrong there. Whoopsie!
Micko
Roar Rookie
I think that environment with Marko is toxic. You see these drivers are all happier away from there.
Joshua Kerr
Roar Guru
Hulkenberg! Why?! :crying:
Micko
Roar Rookie
Yeah I just heard the Sky guys say Ferrari pulled out after I asked you. It will be interesting to see if they get it overturned.
Micko
Roar Rookie
Yes I know. Still funny though (and sad).
Joshua Kerr
Roar Guru
It’s so easy for people to go ‘well Ricciardo could get podiums’ and just dismiss the whole background that goes with the situation that Albon finds himself in. It really is tricky for the poor bloke. It’s not his fault. Although today’s performance wasn’t exactly stellar so that doesn’t help. But, overall, it’s not his fault.
Joshua Kerr
Roar Guru
Yeah, they were third for a wee bit, but Racing Point are so up and down that it's not difficult to catch up to them. I've heard Renault have pulled out of their counter-appeal, and it was announced Ferrari also pulled out today. It should be resolved sooner rather than later. The RP appeal will not end until the counter-appeals are all withdrawn. Of course, it could all go to the Court of Appeal but I think that is looking unlikely at the moment.
Joshua Kerr
Roar Guru
I mean 6 of those 7 do drive for the three slowest teams on the grid and Hulkenberg was going strong in the Racing Point so...
Micko
Roar Rookie
Yep, but they basically got that back in the next race, and I'm sure were ahead of Renault in the next race after that. What's the latest news anyway? Stroll Snr said they were appealing that penalty....has that been resolved yet?
Micko
Roar Rookie
Feel sorry for the guy. RB treat their "#2 driver" (in their minds) like dirt. Lets hope he's the one getting that podium soon.
Joshua Kerr
Roar Guru
Did you account for RP’s 15 point penalty?
Joshua Kerr
Roar Guru
Ah, I was thinking you may have been watching on 10. No worries :thumbup: