Carlos Sainz put together the perfect lap right at the death to steal pole position away from Red Bull's Max Verstappen for the 2023 Italian Grand Prix.
The Spanish driver had shown pace all weekend long, taking top spot in both FP2 and FP3 in Monza but there were still question marks heading into qualifying given his team's recent performance woes.
Thankfully for Sainz and Ferrari it all came together at the perfect time as he beat Verstappen by less than a tenth of a second, much to the delight of the Tifosi fans who erupted after he took the chequered flag.
Charles Leclerc took P3 for the Italian racing giants ahead of George Russell and Sergio Perez who rounded out the top five spots on the grid for tomorrow's Grand Prix.
CARLOS SAINZ IS ON POLE IN MONZA!!!! 🙌🇮🇹
— Formula 1 (@F1) September 2, 2023
The Tifosi go wild as @CarlosSainz55 puts it on pole on home soil for @ScuderiaFerrari!! 💚🤍❤️#ItalianGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/tsLBq1JYJi
MORE: F1 Italian Grand Prix predictions, odds, betting tips, best bets for 2023 race at Monza
Italian Grand Prix 2023 provisional starting grid
| Position | Driver |
| 1 | Carlos Sainz |
| 2 | Max Verstappen |
| 3 | Charles Leclerc |
| 4 | George Russell |
| 5 | Sergio Perez |
| 6 | Alex Albon |
| 7 | Oscar Piastri |
| 8 | Lewis Hamilton |
| 9 | Lando Norris |
| 10 | Fernando Alonso |
| 11 | Yuki Tsunoda |
| 12 | Liam Lawson |
| 13 | Nico Hulkenberg |
| 14 | Valtteri Bottas |
| 15 | Logan Sargeant |
| 16 | Zhou Guanyu |
| 17 | Pierre Gasly |
| 18 | Esteban Ocon |
| 19 | Kevin Magnussen |
| 20 | Lance Stroll |
F1 2023 Italian Grand Prix live qualifying commentary, highlights: As it happened
END OF Q3: Carlos Sainz takes pole position for the 2023 Italian Grand Prix!!! After Leclerc and Verstappen alternate quickest laps, the Spanish driver puts together a perfect lap in Monza to take top spot. The crowd goes wild!!
5 minutes left of Q3: After the opening flying laps in Q3, it's provisional pole position for Sainz. He's just ahead of his Ferrari teammate Leclerc as the crowd erupts! Verstappen still lurks though, his time putting him in P3 for now after a small mistake.
START OF Q3: For the final time today, the green light is on for Q3. Will it be Verstappen again on pole position or can someone else steal away top spot in Monza?
Green light, and we're under way for Q3! 🟢
— Formula 1 (@F1) September 2, 2023
Let's do this, Monza 😅#ItalianGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/QES4mEDiPt
END OF Q2: After another chaotic final lap in Monza dogged by traffic problems, it's Verstappen who wins the session by just 0.040 seconds ahead of Leclerc. That pair are followed by Sainz, Perez and Albon as Norris just squeezes through in P10.
Eliminated from Q2:
Yuki Tsunoda
Liam Lawson
Nico Hulkenberg
Valtteri Bottas
Logan Sargeant
5 minutes left of Q2: It's still Sainz who leads here ahead of Verstappen and Leclerc. Hamilton is down in P12 and in danger of not getting through this session at this rate. Hulkenberg, Lawson, Sargeant and Bottas join the British driver in the bottom five at present.
10 minutes left of Q2: Sainz posts a 1:20:991 to take the lead in this session from Verstappen much to the delight of the home fans. Albon in his Williams is again going well, he currently sits in P4 behind Leclerc.
START OF Q2: We're back underway in Monza as Verstappen leads us out.
Just a note that both Ferrari drivers are currently under investigation for time infringements. To try and ease traffic problems the FIA have decided that each driver has to complete a lap between two certain points in 1:41:00 which they may not have done there.
The @ScuderiaFerrari Tifosi are one of a kind 💚🤍❤️#ItalianGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/ZZWp6yfFdD
— Formula 1 (@F1) September 2, 2023
END OF Q1: Verstappen takes top spot in Q1 despite not even clocking a final lap as Red Bull decide to pit both drivers whilst Williams' Alex Albon comes home in P2. Logan Sargeant finishes P6 in the other Williams but it's a disaster for Alpine as both Gasly and Ocon are out in Q1.
Eliminated from Q1:
Zhou Guanyu
Pierre Gasly
Esteban Ocon
Kevin Magnussen
Lance Stroll
5 minutes left of Q1: Verstappen takes top spot with five minutes to go with teammate Perez sat in P2. Gasly, Piastri, Hulkenberg, Ocon and Stroll currently occupy the bottom five spots and have work to do to stay in this qualifying session.
10 minutes left of Q1: After the early runs in Q1, its Albon who leads the pack with Russell just behind. Verstappen has had his first lap time deleted for extending track limits at corner seven.
START OF Q1: Away we go then as the battle for pole position begins around Monza. Expect to see plenty of teammates give each other slip streams down the straights and for lap times to be deleted as some undoubtedly push the track limits too far.
🟢 GREEN LIGHT 🟢
— Formula 1 (@F1) September 2, 2023
Qualifying at the 2023 Italian Grand Prix is now under way!
Bring it on 💪#ItalianGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/tg88nVwDXO
Remember that it's the alternate tyre strategy in use today so all drivers have to use the hards in Q1, mediums in Q2 and softs in Q3.
15 minutes to lights out: Sky Sports have just shown a clip of Martin Brundle interviewing Oscar Piastri who says that he fancies his chances in winning the World Drivers' Championship one day.
There's plenty of firsts to achieve before that happens though including a qualifying pole position, could he be one to watch today?
30 minutes to lights out: One thing to look out for during qualifying this afternoon is the sheer amount of traffic that will build up on track.
We were close to some big collisions across the practice sessions, especially between Lando Norris and Zhou Guanyu, and with drivers wanting to leave their flying lap right until the end, it'll be busy around that final corner. Sainz and Oscar Piastri also came very close..
Oscar and Carlos make contact at Turn 1! 😳#ItalianGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/wyssIxe7TI
— Formula 1 (@F1) September 2, 2023
45 minutes to lights out: It wasn't Verstappen who topped the charts in both FP2 and FP3 though in Monza as that title instead went to Ferrari's Carlos Sainz.
That'll be very encouraging for the home Tifosi fans who will be hoping to see that form continue in qualifying shortly.
1 hour until lights out: Hello and welcome to The Sporting News' live coverage of qualifying for the 2023 Italian Grand Prix!
With the chance to break the current record for longest winning streak in F1 history, Red Bull's Max Verstappen will be desperate to take top spot in qualifying again today in Monza.
What time does the Italian F1 Grand Prix start?
- Date: Sunday, September 3
- Start time: 3:00 p.m (Local) | 2:00 p.m (BST) | 9:00 a.m (ET) | 11:00 p.m (AEST)
Sunday's 2023 Italian Grand Prix is scheduled to start at 3:00 p.m. local time. Lights out will take place just after 9:00 a.m. ET and 2:00 p.m BST.
Below is the complete schedule for the weekend's F1 events in Monza.
| Date | Event | Time (BST) | Time (ET) | Time (AEDT) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Friday, Sep 1 | Practice 1 | 12:30 p.m. | 7:30 a.m | 9:30 p.m |
| Friday, Sep 1 | Practice 2 | 4 p.m. | 11:00 a.m | 1 a.m (Sat, Sep 2) |
| Saturday, Sep 2 | Practice 3 | 11:30 a.m. | 6:30 a.m | 8:30 p.m |
| Saturday, Sep 2 | Qualifying | 3:00 p.m. | 10:00 a.m | 12:00 a.m (Sun, Sep 3) |
| Sunday, Sep 3 | Race | 2 p.m. | 9 a.m | 11 p.m |
MORE: F1 Italian Grand Prix 2023: Time, schedule, TV channel, live stream for Formula 1 race week
What TV channel is the F1 on?
| UK | USA | Canada | Australia | |
| TV Channel | Sky Sports F1 | ESPN/ABC | TSN (English); RDS (French) | Fox Sports |
Where can I live stream F1?
| UK | USA | Canada | Australia | |
| Live Stream | NOW TV / Sky Go app | ESPN+ | fuboTV, TSN Direct | Kayo |
F1 season schedule 2023
In 2023, the Formula One Calendar will be made up on 23 races across four different continents.
The action began with the Bahrain Grand Prix on March 5 and will end on November 26 in Abu Dhabi.
Here's the latest schedule (subject to change):
| Date | Race |
| March 5 | Bahrain Grand Prix |
| March 19 | Saudi Arabia Grand Prix |
| April 2 | Australian Grand Prix |
| April 30 | Azerbaijan Grand Prix |
| May 7 | Miami Grand Prix |
| May 21 | Emilia Romagna Grand Prix |
| May 28 | Monaco Grand Prix |
| June 4 | Spanish Grand Prix |
| June 18 | Canadian Grand Prix |
| July 2 | Austrian Grand Prix |
| July 9 | British Grand Prix |
| July 23 | Hungarian Grand Prix |
| July 30 | Belgian Grand Prix |
| August 27 | Dutch Grand Prix |
| September 3 | Italian Grand Prix |
| September 17 | Singapore Grand Prix |
| September 24 | Japanese Grand Prix |
| October 8 | Qatari Grand Prix |
| October 22 | United States Grand Prix |
| October 29 | Mexican Grand Prix |
| November 5 | Brazilian Grand Prix |
| November 19 | Las Vegas Grand Prix |
| November 26 | Abu Dhabi Grand Prix |
How to watch Formula 1 in the US
- TV channel: ABC; ESPN
- Live stream: FuboTV / Hulu / Sling TV
F1 fans in the USA can catch all the action in 2023 with all 23 races set to be shown live on ABC, ESPN, and ESPN2. For Spanish-language viewers, they can find live broadcasts on ESPN Deportes, though ESPNews and ESPNU will also show some practice and qualifying sessions live throughout the year.
As well as on the official F1 TV service, the action can be live streamed on Hulu + Live TV with subscriptions. Elsewhere, Sling TV will also show the action, as too will FuboTV in the US.
How to watch Formula 1 in Canada
- TV channel: TSN (English); RDS (French)
- Live stream: TSN Direct
For fans in Canada, TSN will carry the English-language telecast of races. For those looking for the French-language broadcast, RDS will have you covered.
Races can be streamed on fuboTV and via TSN's streaming service, TSN Direct.
How to watch Formula 1 in the United Kingdom
- TV channel: Sky Sports F1
- Live stream: NOW TV / Sky Go app
Viewers in the United Kingdom can catch all F1 action on Sky Sports F1, the dedicated F1 channel. For viewers planning to live stream F1 in 2023, you can watch via the Sky Go app if you're an existing subscriber or you can purchase a Sky Sports Pass on NOW TV.
How to watch Formula 1 in Australia
- TV channel: Fox Sports; Channel 10
- Live stream: Kayo
Fox Sports will carry all races in Australia for the 2023 season.
