Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc on pole for Italian Grand Prix

Charles Leclerc put his Ferrari on pole position for the Italian Grand Prix to the delight of the Monza crowd.

Leclerc pulled out all the stops with his final run at the Temple of Speed to send the Tifosi wild, with Max Verstappen having to settle for second.

Verstappen will likely line up in fourth, with the world champion among nine of 20 drivers punished for exceeding their number of allocated engine parts.

QUALIFYING CLASSIFICATION @Charles_Leclerc takes his eighth pole of the season! #ItalianGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/xhIYae12fg

— Formula 1 (@F1) September 10, 2022

Carlos Sainz, Sergio Perez and Lewis Hamilton qualified third, fourth and fifth respectively, but the trio also face grid sanctions. Hamilton will start from the back after taking on his fourth engine of the season – one more than he is allowed.

George Russell finished sixth but takes advantage of those above being penalised to join Leclerc on the front row. Lando Norris qualified seventh but is set to start third in his McLaren once the grid penalties are applied.

Hamilton’s yellow 44 on the side of his Mercedes has been turned to black in honour of the Queen, with a plethora of tributes being paid up and down the paddock to the long-serving monarch.

Both Lewis and George will be running black numbers on their cars this weekend as a mark of respect to Queen Elizabeth II pic.twitter.com/b9WIN1n1cA

— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) September 10, 2022

A one-minute silence was staged ahead of practice on Friday, with another to follow on the grid in the moments before Sunday’s race. The Italian president, Sergio Mattarella, will be present for the formalities.

Mattarella, and the majority of the 125,000 fans expected for race day, will be rooting