Fernando Alonso gave the Italian tifosi a first gift in Monza on Saturday: its first pole position of the season of board of his Ferrari drive. It was a first "pole in Red" for Alonso and a first qualifying success in 30 races for the team.
The Ferrari driver was simply impossible to beat in Italy, any driver getting anywhere close to him considered himself lucky. Both Ferraris were fitted new engines for qualifying.
Only Jenson Button was able to register a time sufficient to deny the Italian team a full first row. He is driving with the F-Exhaust Duct and a bit more load than his rivals in Italy. His teammate at McLaren decided to go without the aerodynamic system – he admitted to regretting the choice on Saturday.
Felipe Massa, still feeding the controversy after an un-penalized false-start in Belgium, took third in front of championship leader Mark Webber who experienced problems again this morning, in practice, when an airbox fire forced him to a sudden halt, like the loss of water pressure had on Friday.
Lewis Hamilton took fifth position after leading temporarily the session. Sebastian Vettel confirmed the fear of the Red Bull Team by pulling in sixth: the Renault fitted RB6 is simply not fast enough for the most rapid track of the year. The car likes grip better than speed, which means surviving is the main objective of the Monza race.
Nico Rosberg, Nico Hulkenberg, Robert Kubica and Rubens Barrichello completed the top-10 of this qualifying session in Monza, Italy. Michael Schumacher missed Q3 and will start the race from 12th.
The grid of the 2010 Italian Grand Prix:
1. row
Fernando Alonso (Ferrari F10) - 1'21 "962 - Q3
Jenson Button (McLaren MP4/25-Mercedes) - 1'22 "084 - Q3
2. row
Felipe Massa (Ferrari F10) - 1'22 "293 - Q3
Mark Webber (Red Bull RB6-Renault) - 1'22 "433 - Q3
3. row
Lewis Hamilton (McLaren MP4/25-Mercedes) - 1'22 "623 - Q3
Sebastian Vettel (RB6 Red Bull-Renault) - 1'22 "675 - Q3
4. row
Nico Rosberg (PGMs Mercedes W01) - 1'23 "027 - Q3
Nico Hulkenberg (Williams FW32-Cosworth) - 1'23 "037 - Q3
5. row
Robert Kubica (Renault R30) - 1'23 "039 - Q3
Rubens Barrichello (Williams FW32-Cosworth) - 1'23 "328 - Q3
6. row
Adrian Sutil (Force India VJM03-Mercedes) - 1'23 "199 - Q2
Michael Schumacher (Mercedes W01 PGMs) - 1'23 "388 - Q2
7. row
Kamui Kobayashi (C29 Sauber-Ferrari) - 1'23 "659 - Q2
Sebastien Buemi (STR5 Toro Rosso-Ferrari) - 1'23 "681 - Q2
8. row
Vitaly Petrov (Renault R30) - 1'23 "819 - Q2
Jaime Alguersuari (STR5 Toro Rosso-Ferrari) - 1'23 "919 - Q2
9. row
Pedro De La Rosa (C29 Sauber-Ferrari) - 1'24 "044 - Q2
Jarno Trulli (Lotus-Cosworth T127) - 1'25 "540 - Q1
10. row
Heikki Kovalainen (Lotus-Cosworth T127) - 1'25 "742 - Q1
Vitantonio Liuzzi (Force India VJM03-Mercedes) - 1'25 "774 - Q1
11. row
Lucas Di Grassi (Virgin VR01-Cosworth) - 1'25 "974 - Q1
Bruno Senna (Hispania F110-Cosworth) - 1'26 "847 - Q1
12. row
Sakon Yamamoto (Hispania F110-Cosworth) - 1'27 "020 - Q1
Timo Glock (Virgin VR01-Cosworth) - 1'25 "934 - Q1 *
* Penalized 5 position
** Unofficial Results**
The Ferrari driver was simply impossible to beat in Italy, any driver getting anywhere close to him considered himself lucky. Both Ferraris were fitted new engines for qualifying.
Only Jenson Button was able to register a time sufficient to deny the Italian team a full first row. He is driving with the F-Exhaust Duct and a bit more load than his rivals in Italy. His teammate at McLaren decided to go without the aerodynamic system – he admitted to regretting the choice on Saturday.
Felipe Massa, still feeding the controversy after an un-penalized false-start in Belgium, took third in front of championship leader Mark Webber who experienced problems again this morning, in practice, when an airbox fire forced him to a sudden halt, like the loss of water pressure had on Friday.
Lewis Hamilton took fifth position after leading temporarily the session. Sebastian Vettel confirmed the fear of the Red Bull Team by pulling in sixth: the Renault fitted RB6 is simply not fast enough for the most rapid track of the year. The car likes grip better than speed, which means surviving is the main objective of the Monza race.
Nico Rosberg, Nico Hulkenberg, Robert Kubica and Rubens Barrichello completed the top-10 of this qualifying session in Monza, Italy. Michael Schumacher missed Q3 and will start the race from 12th.
The grid of the 2010 Italian Grand Prix:
1. row
Fernando Alonso (Ferrari F10) - 1'21 "962 - Q3
Jenson Button (McLaren MP4/25-Mercedes) - 1'22 "084 - Q3
2. row
Felipe Massa (Ferrari F10) - 1'22 "293 - Q3
Mark Webber (Red Bull RB6-Renault) - 1'22 "433 - Q3
3. row
Lewis Hamilton (McLaren MP4/25-Mercedes) - 1'22 "623 - Q3
Sebastian Vettel (RB6 Red Bull-Renault) - 1'22 "675 - Q3
4. row
Nico Rosberg (PGMs Mercedes W01) - 1'23 "027 - Q3
Nico Hulkenberg (Williams FW32-Cosworth) - 1'23 "037 - Q3
5. row
Robert Kubica (Renault R30) - 1'23 "039 - Q3
Rubens Barrichello (Williams FW32-Cosworth) - 1'23 "328 - Q3
6. row
Adrian Sutil (Force India VJM03-Mercedes) - 1'23 "199 - Q2
Michael Schumacher (Mercedes W01 PGMs) - 1'23 "388 - Q2
7. row
Kamui Kobayashi (C29 Sauber-Ferrari) - 1'23 "659 - Q2
Sebastien Buemi (STR5 Toro Rosso-Ferrari) - 1'23 "681 - Q2
8. row
Vitaly Petrov (Renault R30) - 1'23 "819 - Q2
Jaime Alguersuari (STR5 Toro Rosso-Ferrari) - 1'23 "919 - Q2
9. row
Pedro De La Rosa (C29 Sauber-Ferrari) - 1'24 "044 - Q2
Jarno Trulli (Lotus-Cosworth T127) - 1'25 "540 - Q1
10. row
Heikki Kovalainen (Lotus-Cosworth T127) - 1'25 "742 - Q1
Vitantonio Liuzzi (Force India VJM03-Mercedes) - 1'25 "774 - Q1
11. row
Lucas Di Grassi (Virgin VR01-Cosworth) - 1'25 "974 - Q1
Bruno Senna (Hispania F110-Cosworth) - 1'26 "847 - Q1
12. row
Sakon Yamamoto (Hispania F110-Cosworth) - 1'27 "020 - Q1
Timo Glock (Virgin VR01-Cosworth) - 1'25 "934 - Q1 *
* Penalized 5 position
** Unofficial Results**