By: Qualifying for the Italian GP produced gaps completely at odds with the usual pattern of the season. The Temple of Speed showed that the engine is the most important factor at Monza, and it is no coincidence that, without penalties, the top three would have comprised Alpine, Mercedes and McLaren, all powered by the unit built in Stuttgart.
Ferrari close, yet still a long way off
Ferrari were close, 218 thousandths behind, but still a long way off. The major deficit of the engine built in Maranello is particularly evident on the straights (read the telemetry data here). Equally close, as the third force, was the Red Bull-Ford power unit, which placed both Red Bull and VCARB in pursuit.
According to the FIA document, the Austrians have the best ICE on the grid and, at Monza, that was reflected in Max Verstappen’s third place in the race and Racing Bulls’ double points finish. All things considered, ending up 284 thousandths off the pace at a circuit like Monza could even be satisfactory; unfortunately, the Dutch champion is not one to settle for scraps…
The unpredictability created by Antonelli’s absence
Pole position went to Gasly, who delivered a superb performance, but it should be remembered that Andrea Kimi Antonelli, the championship leader, who then fought back from P19 to win his home GP, made no attempt whatsoever to deliver a great Q3 performance because of the grid penalty he would have had to serve. Most likely, had he too been able to show the potential of his power unit, we would be discussing a different scenario.
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Leaving aside the aforementioned teams, Williams managed to claw back some ground compared with Zandvoort, as did Cadillac and Haas, who did a better job than on the slower circuits. Audi lost a little, but nothing alarming, while Aston Martin struggled somewhat again, with the gap rising from the three seconds suffered in the Netherlands to the 3.364 seconds conceded by Alonso in Italy.
Cover and internal photos by Luca Martini / WHYOUT Images
All the news, photos, weather, session times and times from the Italian GP 2026
