Leclerc pole at Italian GP, penalties boost Russell to 2nd

Rome, September 10 (BUS) – Charles Leclerc is looking to reignite the Formula 1 championship race at his home circuit after taking pole position at the Italian Grand Prix on Sunday.

Runaway points leader Max Verstappen will again have to try to force his way forward after he was among several drivers hit with grid penalties, according to the Associated Press.

Leclerc – who said he risked everything in the end – set the fastest time on his last lap of Saturday’s qualifying and knew he would start from the front of the grid even before Verstappen ran 0.145 seconds slower, meaning the Ferrari driver earned the starting point in merit and Not only because of the grid penalties of his opponent.

Despite his impressive start to the season, Ferrari had a difficult campaign full of errors. Leclerc, who trails Verstappen by 109 points in the standings, admitted it was a “surprise” in qualifying for the summit.

Verstappen is vying for a fifth straight win and first-ever appearance on the popular Monza podium.

The current champion had a much more difficult task in the Belgian Grand Prix two weeks ago, when he was once again among the many drivers hit by grid penalties and started in 14th place but rushed across the field to win.

Verstappen’s starting position on Sunday – with all the different penalties for different drivers – was not immediately clear. Verstappen himself said he thought he would start seventh.

Carlos Sainz Jr. was the third fastest player, but he will not start alongside his Ferrari teammate in the front row because he also took penalties and will start at the back of the net, ahead of seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton and Yuki Tsunoda.

Nine drivers in total received network penalties. Verstappen’s teammate Sergio Perez finished fourth, ahead of the Mercedes pair of Hamilton and George Russell, but it is Russell who will start alongside Leclerc on Sunday.

McLaren’s Lando Norris, seventh in the standings, will start third. Meanwhile, there was an impressive qualifying appearance from Williams reserve driver Nick de Vries who steps in for Alex Albon this weekend after the Thai driver was diagnosed with appendicitis.

The 27-year-old de Vries reached the second quarter – outpacing teammate Nicholas Latifi – and was 13th fastest.

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