Winners and Losers from 2023 F1 Italian Grand Prix qualifying

Having survived an investigation by stewards, Carlos Sainz will start the 2023 Italian Grand Prix on pole position to the delight of the Tifosi. The Ferrari driver, and teammate Charles Leclerc, were both placed under investigation during qualifying at Monza for a potential breach of race director Niels Wittich's instruction for all drivers to not lap slower than 1:41:000 during out or cooling laps to prevent dangerous closing speeds approaching the Parabolica. In the end, the stewards found that both drivers did not drive "unnecessarily slowly" as they were moving off-line to allow other drivers clear laps. Sainz will be joined on the front-row by Max Verstappen who is going in search of that record-breaking 10th win in a row. We start our round-up of Winners and Losers from 2023 F1 Italian Grand Prix qualifying with Sainz.

Winner - Carlos Sainz

This pole position for Sainz should come as no surprise. All throughout the weekend, he has been the faster of the two Ferrari drivers, evidenced by him topping two of the three practice sessions, and being just 0.046s slower than Verstappen in the other. Leclerc admitted he went the wrong way on set-up and was forced to change to one similar to Sainz, who has quietly looked like the driver capable of defeating Verstappen. It is Sainz's first pole since 2022 United States Grand Prix, and one which was built on a fantastic second sector of his final Q3 lap which was nearly two-tenths up on what Leclerc managed. This is has been Sainz's strongest weekend of the season - now he must look to convert his pole into a second Grand Prix win. Verstappen does hold an advantage in race trim, but the Ferrari is a strong enough package to give the World Champion a firm examination in the race. What Sainz did say? "All three went for it and we were very on the limit, and on that last lap, I had some time to find at the Ascari chicane and Parabolica [now Alboreto], and I went for it."

Loser - Lance Stroll

In mitigation, Lance Stroll did not turn a flying lap at Monza until Saturday morning owing to him giving up the Aston Martin to Felipe Drugovich for FP1 and then a fuel system issue putting him out early in FP2. He clocked 31 laps in final practice, on a track that Aston Martin expected would not suit the AMR23, which is a draggy machine. But Stroll failed to navigate Q1, posting the slowest time of all, and ending up behind Kevin Magnussen by nearly three-tenths in a car which should hope to out-qualify a Haas, regardless of any problems. He labelled it the worst session he's had, for a driver perhaps lacking in a little confidence after an up and down run of form in recent races. What did Stroll say? "There was something going on in the car [in qualifying] that didn't make sense. It was tricky, but I didn't feel any grip in the car. It is the worst session I've ever had."

Winner - Alexander Albon

12 months on from having his Monza hopes dashed by his appendix ruining things, Alexander Albon has returned and means business. After the pleasant surprise of Zandvoort where the FW45 was not expected to go well, Albon backed up that points finish with sixth on the grid, on merit, and was less than a tenth from grabbing fourth, being usurped by George Russell and Sergio Perez. That is a mighty performance in car tipped by some as an outside prospect for a podium, which is a bit of a stretch given the pace of the Red Bull and Ferrari duos. But best of the rest? Albon is a strong contender for that - which has to be the minimum target. What did Albon say? "We could have saved a set of that Medium tyre [in Q2]. My first lap felt really strong and I was pretty convinced that would be a lap [to get] through to Q3. We didn't want to take the risk which is fair enough but we did end up wasting a new set of that we saved for the race tomorrow."

Loser - Logan Sargeant

On the flip side, there is Logan Sargeant who could only manage 15th, and slowest in Q2. The Dutch Grand Prix was a messy weekend for Sargeant including two heavy crashes in qualifying and the race, but there was tangible progress in making it through to Q3 for the first time. That should have been something on which the Floridian should have built on at the track that has been circled by all at Grove since the start of the season. He was about half-a-second away from making it through to Q3, which is a huge gap. There have been flashes of this or that from Sargeant who has all the ingredients to make a solid Grand Prix driver - he just needs to quickly start putting them together before it is too late. What did Sargeant say? "I put the medium tyre on and honestly felt a very minimal increase in grip. It just wasn't in the window and I've been struggling on that tyre all weekend, and I don't know why."

Winner - Liam Lawson

This is the first real weekend of which Liam Lawson can be judged owing to the unusual and chaotic circumstances of his debut at Zandvoort. And so far, it is a big tick for the Kiwi driver. He was 12th and out-qualified by Yuki Tsunoda in 11th, but only by 0.164s, having briefly got ahead in Q1 by the fine margin of 0.001s. Lawson acquitted himself well in the mayhem of Zandvoort which is probably the toughest debut race any driver has ever faced in the World Championship. The Italian GP will be dry and Lawson is firmly ensconced in the midfield so a better picture of his abilities should emerge. The fact that he was also disappointed not to make it to Q3 is also encouraging for a driver who could stay in the seat for the Singapore and Japanese Grands Prix. What did Lawson say? "We definitely have more time in it, with both cars so close to Q3, there was obviously clearly potential to be in there."

Loser - Alpine

For Alpine at the moment, it feels like one step is made forwards, and two are taken back. Fresh off the fantastic strategy call that put Pierre Gasly in a position to challenge for, and ultimately take, a podium in the Netherlands, both Gasly and Esteban Ocon were dumped out in Q1. Ocon sustained floor damage after an off, but Gasly just did not have the pace to escape the bottom five, out-pacing Ocon by 0.003s as they took 17th and 18th. Gasly admitted he expected to be out in Q1 - which is not a position a supposedly upwardly mobile team should ever be in. What did Gasly say? "We knew coming to Monza it would be the toughest weekend of the year, and it has clearly been the case, so we expected to be out in Q1."