Carlos Sainz broke the legion of Tifosi who, regardless of the results, always paint the Monza circuit red, one of the temples of speed that still appears in the Formula 1 World Championship calendar. In his strongest weekend to date, the Spanish driver managed to beat Max Verstappen by just 13 thousandths, nothing, thanks to a practically anthological second sector. It is the Madrid native’s fourth pole position, the first of the season for him and the third for Ferrari. Although it is only a time trial, the performance of Sainz and the third place that Charles Leclerc, his neighbor in the Scuderia workshop, will take at the time of the start (3 p.m., Dazn) will boost the morale of the Maranello squad lift, half dazed like most fans of the scooter that Verstappen and his Red Bull drive through Grand Prix after Grand Prix. This time Fernando Alonso will start in tenth place in a final round in which he had no other choice.
More information
While waiting for the reaction of the reigning champions and the Red Buffalo team, the 67 thousandths that separated the top three is a strong argument to consider a podium finish. The pursuit of victory when Mad Max is so close and the Dutchman’s performance in the long lap runs is a different story. It remains to be seen whether the SF-23’s straight-line speed can withstand the aerodynamic load of the RB19 on a track where this element is not as crucial as others. Until the lights go out, fans can drool over the three-way battle on the final lap (Q3), a slugfest that temporarily gave the three teammates pole position for it. . Each of them grew in one of Monza’s three sectors, and the balance fell on Sainz’s side because he excelled in the second sector. The uncertainty lasted longer than necessary due to the will of the stewards, who momentarily scrutinized the two Prancing Horse cars even though the thing was just a scare.
The International Automobile Federation (FIA) has specified the maximum time that drivers can spend traveling back and forth to the workshop and charging the batteries. After analyzing Sainz and Leclerc’s turns in the first quarter, the race stewards concluded that both had exceeded this limit. However, this obligation provided for some exceptions, such as the one that relieved those who had run slower than necessary to move away and give way to rivals who arrived on a fast lap. Although the FIA announced an investigation to be carried out after the end of the third quarter, the authority later canceled it as it found the arguments put forward by Ferrari to be logical.
More information
“Tell me we have it!” said the son of the two-time world rally champion (1990 and 1992) over the radio as he completed the corner that allowed him to leave without traffic and with a clear path in front of him. “We got it, good job,” replied Riccardo Adami, his track engineer. “It was a very intense qualifying, especially in the third quarter. “The three of us tried, but I knew I had some leeway and fortunately it went well,” added the rider, who will try to repeat the triumph that Leclerc achieved in 2019, the last Italian construction in his special cathedral. “I’ve had goosebumps since I crossed the finish line. In the hotel wherever we go. The first goal is the podium, but we are aiming for victory,” continued Sainz, who will hardly find himself in a more favorable situation to try to break Red Bull’s inertia, which has not been the case since the last stop at the World Championship has stopped winning calendar. from last year.
You can follow EL PAÍS Deportes on Facebook and Twitteror sign up here to receive our weekly newsletter.