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On Saturday, Charles Leclerc took pole position for the Italian Formula One Grand Prix, sending Ferrari’s hopes soaring, while Mercedes’ George Russell joined him on the front row after penalties were applied.
Nine of the 20-driver grid had grid drops hanging over them, most of the time for exceeding their engine allowance for strategic reasons at a critical point in the season.
“It is a very good surprise today, considering where we come from. We were not expecting to fight for pole here,” said Leclerc.
“There’s a special motivation for this weekend and it’s great that we managed to do a good job today,” he added.
Leclerc set a near-perfect lap on his second run in the final top 10 shootout, taking pole with a best time of one minute 20.161 seconds thanks to an aerodynamic tow behind McLaren’s Lando Norris.
Ferrari pole 🤝 Monza
Ride onboard with @Charles_Leclerc as he tames the Temple of Speed! 🇮🇹#ItalianGP @pirellisport pic.twitter.com/OTLBKzx1Qv
— Formula 1 (@F1) September 10, 2022
Leclerc and Ferrari last started on pole at Monza in 2019, and he won to stand atop the podium at the ‘Temple of Speed’ as a flood of fans with flares and flags filled the pit straight.
Red Bull’s championship leader Max Verstappen was second fastest and one and a half tenths off the pace, 109 points ahead of Leclerc with seven races remaining and chasing his fifth win in a row.
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