2026 Italian Grand Prix Qualifying Review

Linus O'Howell
15 minutes ago
2 min read

With Monza holding the record for the fastest lap in Formula 1 history, there’s no better place to go Qualifying ahead of the 2026 Italian Grand Prix!

Q1

In Qualifying 1, Yuki Tsunoda, Alex Albon, Valtteri Bottas, Sergio Perez, Fernando Alonso, and Lance Stroll were the six slowest drivers! After impressing in Zandvoort, Yuki Tsunoda was unable to make it out of Q1, whilst Alex Albon was miles off after helping his teammate! Cadillac can take positives that they’re not the slowest team this weekend, with Valtteri Bottas once again ahead of Sergio Perez, as Aston Martin ended up miles off the pace, with Fernando Alonso less than a tenth clear of Lance Stroll! Amazingly, Pierre Gasly topped Q1 for Alpine, just slightly ahead of Max Verstappen’s Red Bull!

Q2

In Qualifying 2, Gabriel Bortoleto, Oliver Bearman, Nico Hulkenberg, Liam Lawson, Carlos Sainz, and Esteban Ocon all failed to make it into the Top 10 shootout! Gabriel Bortoleto managed to miss out on a spot in Q3 (over Lewis Hamilton) by just a single thousandth of a second, whilst Oliver Bearman showcased Haas’ improvement to qualify 12th! Nico Hulkenberg could only manage 13th for Audi, ahead of a very annoyed Liam Lawson, whilst Carlos Sainz managed to pip Esteban Ocon to P15 by 1 thousandth of a second (twice in this session; that’s insane)! Andrea Kimi Antonelli topped Q2 for Mercedes, with Oscar Piastri slotting in behind!

Q3

In Qualifying 3, a 1:21.786 was enough for Pierre Gasly to take one of the all-time great Pole Positions! No, your eyes are not deceiving you; Pierre got Pole! Now the intriguing part of the weekend: can Gasly win tomorrow?! A stunned George Russell had Pole Position taken away at the last gasp, whilst Oscar Piastri came up with a much-needed P3! Whilst 4th and 5th is disappointing, it honestly could’ve been a lot worse for Ferrari, with Charles Leclerc pipping Lewis Hamilton by just 7 thousandths of a second! Max Verstappen will start tomorrow’s Grand Prix from P6, whilst Andrea Kimi Antonelli will start from 20th after taking fresh components! In fairness to Kimi, his lap was pretty decent! As a result, Franco Colapinto will start 7th in the other Alpine, ahead of a very disappointed Lando Norris, whilst Arvid Lindblad managed to round out the Top 10!