Carlos Sainz has secured pole position for his team, Ferrari, at their home ground during the Italian Grand Prix of the Formula 1 World Championship on Saturday. Sainz outpaced Dutch driver Max Verstappen from Red Bull by a margin of 0.013 seconds. Ferrari's Charles Leclerc finished in third place. This marks the third time Ferrari has claimed pole position this season, which has seen Red Bull win all races so far. Sainz will start from the front for the first time since the US Grand Prix in Texas last October.
The final session of qualifying began amid doubts regarding the performance of the Ferrari duo, with an investigation pending due to slow driving in the first session. However, the stewards decided not to take further action, much to the delight of Ferrari fans. Sainz expressed that he "felt chills crossing the finish line and tried to contain his emotions after an exciting qualifying session." The Spanish driver added, "This is amazing. The noise is everywhere, and the support and encouragement are overwhelming. This is the best feeling for a driver; we will do our best to maintain first place tomorrow. We need a good start and a strong first lap, then we will see how we can compete with Max. (Verstappen) is quick over the long run, but I will give it my all." Verstappen expressed happiness with his second-place finish simply for a change.
