Valtteri Bottas held off Max Verstappen to claim the win in Formula 1’s second Sprint Qualifying at the Italian Grand Prix.
The Mercedes driver led every lap at Monza to take the three points, although he won’t start on pole position due to his engine grid penalty.
Instead, it will be Verstappen starting P1 for Red Bull, as the Dutchman extended his championship lead by a further two points over Lewis Hamilton.
That’s because the seven-time world champion lost three places after a poor start from second, dropping to fifth behind Max and the two McLarens.
Pierre Gasly also briefly got past by would crash heavily in the Curva Grande after his front wing failed following light contact with Daniel Ricciardo through the first chicane.
LIGHTS OUT
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⚫️⚫️⚫️⚫️⚫️A frantic start. Gasly goes off at the Curva Grande. He’s radioed to the team that he’s ok.
And the Safety Car comes out #ItalianGP ?? #F1Sprint pic.twitter.com/uOT2mbxTaX
— Formula 1 (@F1) September 11, 2021
That triggered a Safety Car, although didn’t stop Yuki Tsunoda tapping Robert Kubica into a spin at the second chicane.
When the Sprint when green again, Hamilton tried to atone for his poor start but couldn’t get close to Lando Norris ahead on the straights, even with DRS.
As a result, Lewis remained fifth for the entire 18-lap race and will be desperate to make progress from what will be fourth on the grid on Sunday.
The main action after the start centred on Sergio Perez battling Lance Stroll for ninth, with the Mexican being successful at the second attempt as he had to shortcut the first chicane to pass the first time.
Perez closed in on Antonio Giovinazzi late on but couldn’t pass the Italian in the Alfa Romeo before the end.
Like Silverstone, Fernando Alonso gained places although only managed 11th, just ahead of Sebastian Vettel.
Nicholas Latifi finally out-qualified teammate George Russell for the first time at Williams after passing the Mercedes-bound Briton for 14th
Nikita Mazepin made up the most positions from 20th to 17th, ahead of both Kubica and Haas teammate Mick Schumacher.
Gasly would be the only retirement after his Lap 1 crash.
Back at the front, Bottas did his part to limit the damage caused by Hamilton’s poor start, but it is Verstappen who really gained the most to claim an unlikely pole after Valtteri’s penalty.
Max will have former teammate Ricciardo alongside, as McLaren’s gamble to use the soft tyre versus the other frontrunners on mediums paid off with Norris in third.
As for the Sprint itself, much like Silverstone, the majority of the action came in the opening skirmishes on the first few laps, with the order barely changing after that point.
Still, it has set up a very interesting grid for the 53-lap main event on Sunday at Monza.
Full results can be seen below:
