Q1
F. Massa 1:38.338
L. Stroll 1:37.653
Q2
F. Massa 1:37.456
L. Stroll 1:37.002
Q3
F. Massa 1:38.251 (9th)
L. Stroll 1:37.032 (4th)
Qualifying Notes
– Lance Stroll qualified fourth with Felipe Massa ninth for the Italian Grand Prix
– Qualifying was red-flagged for several hours due to poor weather conditions but both cars displayed excellent pace when the session restarted
– Lance and Felipe both qualified on the wet tyre
– Due to engine penalties, Lance and Felipe gain two positions for tomorrow’s starting grid meaning they will start second and seventh respectively
– Lance will become the youngest ever front-row starter
Paddy Lowe, Chief Technical Officer: It has been a long afternoon but from our point of view, it was worth the wait. It was a terrific result to get both cars into Q3. We had great pace in the car, especially with Lance, who is my driver of the day. We were briefing him this morning before FP3, asking him if he wanted extra practice in the wet because he’s never driven an F1 car in full wet conditions but he said “No, I’ll just take it as it comes” and that’s what he did today. We saw some great talent out there. Good performance in the wet is one of those things that’s very difficult to test or develop, so it’s one of those surprises that can unfold positively or negatively on the day. Tomorrow, we have Lance on the front row, which is great in his first year of F1 – a tremendous achievement. We’ll see what he can do in the race. Felipe did a great job too in very difficult circumstances and will line up seventh on the grid. So we are aiming for some good points to end the weekend.
Lance Stroll: It feels great. I didn’t expect that coming into today, but racing is full of surprises and you never know what will happen. They were difficult conditions out there, but we really handled it well as a team and pulled it off. I felt confident, felt good with the car and put it all together. Tomorrow is the race and that is where it counts, and I am just going to run my race like I always do. I am starting from a bit of a different position, but anything can happen and we have just got to be on top of our game tomorrow. The car just seems more competitive this weekend. I know the conditions weren’t really normal. We expected coming into this weekend with more straights and less high speed corners we would be a bit more competitive and it just seems to be that way.
Felipe Massa: It was definitely a great qualifying for the team. For many years, our car has been difficult in wet conditions and today the car was great, which for me was very important in qualifying. I was happy to be in Q3, but not so happy with my position because for sure I would have been happier to be in Lance’s position. He did a fantastic job, an amazing lap and qualifying. It was great to see what he managed to achieve in terms of laptime. I’m so happy for him. We are starting P2 and P7, so we are in a good position for the race tomorrow and we will try everything we can to have a good race with both cars.
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