Formula One is back with its second consecutive weekend of racing following several weekends off for the summer break. This time, the cars go racing at Monza.
Red Bull maintains a massive lead in the Constructor Standings while Mercedes, Aston Martin, and Ferrari are separated by 54 points total. Behind them is McLaren, who finished seventh and 10th last weekend.
The Driver Standings are led by Max Verstappen who has run away with the lead, but Sergio Perez, Fernando Alonso, and Lewis Hamilton are are separated by just 45 points.
Constructors Standings before Italian Grand Prix
Drivers Standings Top 10 before Italian Grand Prix
F1 starting grid tomorrow: Here's who took pole for Italian Grand Prix
Here is how the starting grid will look for Sunday's race, slated to start at 3:00 p.m. Italian time.
Qualifying ended with a flurry of jockeying for provisional pole. Charles Leclerc held pole for only a moment before Max Verstappen snatched it back in Q3 as time was expiring. Moments later, the other Ferrari, Carlos Sainz took pole on his own flying lap, allowing an Italian team to take pole for its home race.
Verstappen's undoing was a moment where he hit the gravel in his flying lap in Q3. Taking second place despite the costly mistake shows just how fast Verstappen is.
Both Alpines failed to make it into the top 15. Lance Stroll's Q1 performance was disappointing as well. Were he not the son of the team's owner, his spot on the grid would certainly be up for more questioning.
Ferrari went under investigation for going too slowly on one of its laps before its flying lap, and sanctions could be coming for the team. Some wondered why Ferrari wasn't being looked at, too.
Ultimately, it appeared that the final starting grid might have looked slightly different than how things played out in qualifying. The FIA's investigation tidied up quickly as the race ended, however, and no further action was decided. Ferrari takes official pole.
McLaren made it into Q3 once again, further proving the changes they made midseason truly have helped them become a real competitor in the middle of the grid as they hoped to be from the start of the year.
