2024 Italian Grand Prix – Qualifying Report "It's an amazing effort to be able to pull that off"

Autodromo Nazionale Monza, Saturday, 31 August

Hear from McLaren Formula 1 drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, as well as Team Principal Andrea Stella, after Qualifying for the Italian Grand Prix.

Image
FP3 1m20.262s (+0.145s) 15 laps 5th
Q1 1m19.911s (Soft)   1st
Q2 1m19.727s (Soft)   3rd
Q3 1m19.327s (Soft)   1st

“Another pole, which is amazing. To have a first and second in Qualifying is a little bit of a surprise when the field has been as tight as it has all weekend. The team has done an amazing job. It would be great to replicate this tomorrow, but it’s been very, very close on track. There are a lot of very quick drivers behind in quick cars, so I’m not expecting an easy race. There’s also plenty of question marks over the tyre degradation on the new tarmac – so lots of unknowns for us but plenty of excitement for the fans.” 

Image
FP3 1m20.252s (+0.135s) 15 laps 4th
Q1 1m20.076s (Soft)   3rd
Q2 1m19.808s (Soft)   5th
Q3 1m19.436s (Soft)   2nd

“The first lap in Q3 was quite good, but the second was not quite there. However, it was still a good performance and a really good team effort. The field’s been incredibly tight this weekend, there was no guarantee of a front-row lock-out for us, so it’s an amazing effort to be able to pull that off. After the resurfacing, it’s been a little bit different to what we’re used to in Monza, and with such a tight field at the front, I think tomorrow’s race will be very exciting.” 

Andrea Stella

“A great result for the team in what was an extremely tight Qualifying, with only a couple of tenths between first and sixth here in Monza. We were expecting a different situation to Zandvoort, given the two layouts are polar opposites, so it’s reassuring to confirm the MCL38 is working well across a range of conditions.  

“We’re now focused on the race. Tyre behaviour will be interesting, and I think everyone will be going in with a degree of uncertainty about how it might pan-out. We have to work hard tonight, extract the most out of the car, and try to maximise this very strong grid position.”