Beyond the Flag
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Formula 1 just took a page out of NASCAR’s book of embarrassment

By Asher Fair

MONZA, ITALY - SEPTEMBER 07: Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain driving the (44) Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team Mercedes W10 and Nico Hulkenberg of Germany driving the (27) Renault Sport Formula One Team RS19 lead the field on track during qualifying for the F1 Grand Prix of Italy at Autodromo di Monza on September 07, 2019 in Monza, Italy. (Photo by Dan Istitene/Getty Images)
MONZA, ITALY - SEPTEMBER 07: Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain driving the (44) Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team Mercedes W10 and Nico Hulkenberg of Germany driving the (27) Renault Sport Formula One Team RS19 lead the field on track during qualifying for the F1 Grand Prix of Italy at Autodromo di Monza on September 07, 2019 in Monza, Italy. (Photo by Dan Istitene/Getty Images) /
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Formula 1 took a page out of NASCAR’s book of embarrassment with a disaster of a qualifying session for the Italian Grand Prix at Autodromo Nazionale Monza.

Six of the 10 drivers who advanced to the third and final round of qualifying for Sunday’s Formula 1 race, the Italian Grand Prix, at Autodromo Nazionale Monza had recorded lap times in this session when Alfa Romeo Racing’s Kimi Raikkonen spun out.

When Raikkonen crashed in turn 11 of this 11-turn, 3.600-mile (5.794-kilometer) Autodromo Nazionale Monza road course in Monza, Italy, the red flag came out.

Scuderia Ferrari teammates Charles Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel, Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport teammates Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas and Renault teammates Daniel Ricciardo and Nico Hulkenberg were the only drivers who had recorded lap times.

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Initially it was thought that Bottas did not cross the line before the red flag came out, but his lap time was reinstated.

Meanwhile, McLaren’s Carlos Sainz Jr., Aston Martin Red Bull Racing’s Alexander Albon and SportPesa Racing Point’s Lance Stroll had not recorded lap times, nor had Raikkonen.

When the track was clear and the clock begin running again with the session back underway, there were no takers. With the clock winding down, however, the field of nine remaining qualifiers made their way out onto the track.

This pack was moving extremely slowly, and with the clock winding down, there were questions as to whether or not anybody would actually make it back around to the start/finish line to start a flying lap. There was visible frustration among drivers in some of the cars not leading this pack, as they were eager to get a move on but unable to pass anybody.

These questions intensified when Leclerc actually passed Vettel heading into turn 11 despite the fact that Vettel was slated to run in front of his teammate to give him a tow.

Sainz led the pack at this point ahead of Leclerc, and that is how they crossed the start/finish line.

Then the clock hit 0:00.

As a result, nobody behind Sainz and Leclerc could record an additional lap time. It was initially thought that only Sainz had made it, but Formula 1 confirmed that both he and Leclerc did so.

Sainz was poised to qualify in seventh place regardless barring an amazing lap, as he had been caught out by Raikkonen’s crash, and Leclerc was already on the provisional pole.

Sainz did end up qualifying in seventh place. Leclerc did not better his lap time of 79.307 seconds (163.416 miles per hour). Albon and Stroll ended up failing to record lap times, as did Raikkonen.

It was Auto Club Speedway NASCAR Cup Series qualifying all over again.

In mid-March, a similar situation happened in the Cup Series. Each of the 12 drivers who advanced to the third and final round of qualifying waited to go out onto the track, and nobody wanted to be the first driver out because of the effect that the draft has on drivers.

When the clock hit 0:00, none of these 12 drivers had started their qualifying laps.

As a result, Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Dillon officially took the pole position with a lap time of 0.000 seconds around the four-turn, 2.0-mile (3.219-kilometer) Auto Club Speedway oval in Fontana, California, as he had recorded the fastest lap time in the second round of qualifying.

NASCAR responded with small changes to the qualifying format, but when those changes didn’t work, they reverted to the single-car qualifying format that had been used in previous years.

With Autodromo Nazionale Monza being the circuit on the Formula 1 schedule that puts the biggest emphasis on straight-line speed, a similar strategy made sense, even in a road course race — until it turned into an utter embarrassment for the “pinnacle of motorsport”.

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Stewards are currently investigating how this qualifying session ended, particularly as it pertains to drivers holding other drivers up and preventing them from making it to the start/finish line to start a flying lap in time. However, don’t expect any drastic changes to the Formula 1 qualifying format simply because of this disaster.

The Italian Grand Prix is set to be broadcast live on ESPN2 from Autodromo Nazionale Monza beginning tomorrow morning at 9:05 a.m. ET.

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