2024 F1 Italian GP Qualifying: Winners and losers

The 2024 F1 Italian GP qualifying saw a potential battle between the top four teams for pole position. By the time Q3 began, it was hard to pinpoint which one team or driver could secure pole position. At that moment, it did appear that any of the top teams could see their driver nailing everything and getting the job done.

Once the first round of flying laps were done, it became clear that Red Bull was not in contention. It was still very close between McLaren, Ferrari, and Mercedes, with Lando Norris securing pole position from his teammate Oscar Piastri by less than a tenth.

In P3, we had George Russell, followed by the Ferrari duo of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz. In P6, we had Lewis Hamilton, followed by Max Verstappen, having a disaster with just a P7 grid start.

As the teams get ready for final preparation for the F1 Italian GP on Sunday, who will be happy with how qualifying went, and who will be a bit disappointed? Let's take a look.

2024 F1 Italian GP qualifying

Winner

Lando Norris

It's hard to discount the kind of pressure that Lando Norris has faced this season and the kind of pressure he had heading into the final lap of the F1 Italian GP. This was not a pole secured by only beating his rapid teammate. This was a pole position achieved on the back of being flawless on a track where it is too easy to make mistakes.

He nailed every part of the track and extracted hundredths of a second to finally reach the point where he could secure the pole by a tenth. The way Lando is performing, he's going to be a more-than-worthy title contender for Max Verstappen in 2024.

Loser

Max Verstappen

Sure the Red Bull is not as hooked as it should be on track, but Max Verstappen did not have a flawless F1 Italian GP qualifying session either. The driver is struggling with the car, making mistakes, and there's almost a level of him failing to come to terms with the fact that maybe the performance is just not there and you have to maximize what you can.

Being just a tenth quicker than Sergio Perez, a driver who he is more often than not a few tenths ahead of, should be enough of an indication that Max left something on the table on Saturday.

Winner

George Russell

George Russell is in a peculiar situation at Mercedes where there's almost a case of him being the unwanted guest at a house. Toto Wolff has already shown affection for Kimi Antonelli, but at the same time, he has not ended his pursuit of Max Verstappen.

In all of this, despite the fact that George Russell is nailing everything in that Mercedes, he hardly gets the mention that he possibly deserves. At this stage, what George can continue to do is beat Lewis Hamilton week in and week out. That's precisely what he's done at the F1 Italian GP qualifying, and he needs to keep his foot on that peddle as long as possible.

Loser

Lewis Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton effusively proclaimed after the race in Zandvoort that he would have been on the podium if he had qualified better. The reason the statement was stark was because his teammate had started the race in the top 4 and finished P7.

While such statements are great once in a while, at some point if Lewis continues to have poor qualifying, then these statements start to lose weight. He's facing a one-sided drubbing in qualifying at the hands of his teammate, and if there was a title in contention, Lewis would be leaving points on the table at every race.

Winner

Williams/Alex Albon

Williams should be happy with a P9 for the F1 Italian GP because at the very least it puts the team in a situation where the car is starting to show progress in the midfield. Alex Albon deserves the credit for getting the better of Nico Hulkenberg in the end as well, and all this does is it puts Williams in a position from where the team can start scoring points.

Loser

Alpine

Alpine probably did better in the F1 Italian GP qualifying than it would have expected with a Q2 exit instead of a Q1 exit, but looking at the weekend that the team is having, it's just poor. There are Renault employees in the stands protesting against the team, and at the same time, the team has not shown any signs of progress.

The kind of bad name that this iteration of Renault's F1 foray has given to the brand is something that's not going to go away any time soon.