Red Bull pair Daniel Ricciardo and Daniil Kvyat are hoping to make progress into the points at the Italian Grand Prix, following engine penalties for both drivers. The FIA has yet to confirm the starting grid for Sunday's race, but with Ricciardo having sustained a 25 place drop and Kvyat a demotion of 15 spots, the pair are expected to line-up at the back of the pack. "We’ll be starting from the back tomorrow and we’ll try to make up some places," said Ricciardo. "The […]

Ferrari driver Kimi Raikkonen admitted that he was surprised at having qualified on the front row of the grid at the Italian Grand Prix. Raikkonen claimed his highest qualifying result since early 2013 as he edged ahead of team-mate Sebastian Vettel during the final Q3 run and will start behind only Mercedes rival Lewis Hamilton. "It was the best qualifying of the year, I’m happy for all the team and the people who support us," Raikkonen said, referring to Ferrari's fans at its home event. […]

Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg is wary that he faces a 'tough' Italian Grand Prix after qualifying behind team-mate Lewis Hamilton and both Ferrari drivers at Monza. Mercedes detected a problem with Rosberg's upgraded power unit prior to qualifying and the outfit was forced to re-install an old unit, which has already completed six races. With Rosberg using an old non-upgraded specification engine, he could manage only fourth place and isn't confident that matters will improve in the race. "With every kilometre you lose a bit […]

Marcus Ericsson has been handed a three place grid penalty for the Italian Grand Prix after stewards judged he impeded a rival during qualifying at Monza. Ericsson held up Force India's Nico Hulkenberg at Parabolica during the first segment of qualifying and while both drivers made it through to Q3, stewards took a dim view of the Sauber driver's approach. Ericsson has thus been demoted from 10th on the grid to 13th, while two penalty points have been added to his license. This increased his […]

Nico Hulkenberg believes that a loss of power in his Force India cost him a couple of positions during qualifying for the Italian Grand Prix. Hulkenberg, who was unable to start in Belgium due to a power problem, crawled to a halt in Q3, having set a time good enough for ninth on the grid. "It’s good to be in the top 10, but without the problems in Q3 there was the potential to be much higher up the grid," he said. "I just lost […]

Williams driver Valtteri Bottas conceded that Ferrari was out of reach after the team locked out the third row of the grid at the Italian Grand Prix. Bottas set the sixth fastest time during Saturday's qualifying, two-tenths behind team-mate Felipe Massa, who finished on the podium at Monza in 2014. "It wasn’t a perfect qualifying as I didn’t get a great slipstream in the final lap," said Bottas. "I think fifth and sixth was the maximum as the Ferraris were just a bit out reach. […]

Lewis Hamilton cruised to pole position for the Italian Grand Prix, his 11th of 2015, while Ferrari claimed second and third on the grid. Hamilton posted a 1:23.397 on his first lap in Q3 which was ultimately not beaten, as Kimi Räikkönen claimed a front-row start at the expense of team-mate Sebastian Vettel. Vettel held second after the first runs but didn't improve on his next lap, enabling Räikkönen to move ahead. Mercedes detected an undiagnosed problem on Nico Rosberg’s engine before qualifying and the […]

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton topped a wet/dry final practice session for the Italian Grand Prix at Monza. Overnight rain drenched the circuit and there was minimal running for the first half of the session, as only a handful of drivers ventured out on Intermediate tyres. Once the circuit dried there was frantic activity and Hamilton clocked a 1:24.544 to finish 0.264s clear of Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel. Nico Rosberg was close behind in third, while Williams collected fourth and fifth cortes of Valtteri Bottas and Felipe […]

Max Verstappen has become the sixth driver to be penalised for an engine change at the Italian Grand Prix. Toro Rosso has opted to change the power unit in Verstappen's car and he is now set to drop back 10 places on the grid from wherever he qualifies. "We just have to try and make the most out of this situation, optimise the car and try to find a bit of performance," said Verstappen after placing 14th in practice. "It’s no secret if I say […]

Sebastian Vettel says Ferrari is 'quite far away' from Mercedes at the Italian Grand Prix and that the squad is simply focused on unlocking more pace in its SF15-T. Vettel was third quickest during Friday practice at Monza but his best time was three-quarters of a second adrift of Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton. "It was a solid day for us, we had no issues with the car and we’ve got quite a lot of running which is always positive," said Vettel. "The qualifying here will be […]

Nico Hulkenberg is confident that Force India can improve further despite posting encouraging pace during Friday practice for the Italian Grand Prix. Hulkenberg and team-mate Sergio Perez claimed fourth and five in both sessions at Monza, with the former ahead in the morning and the latter edging in front during the afternoon running. "That’s not bad at all," said Hulkenberg. "The car had quite good pace today and we collected a lot of information about the tyres on the long runs. "We lost a little […]

Mercedes duo Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg say they expect a close intra-team fight for victory at the Italian Grand Prix following Friday's practice sessions at Monza. Hamilton edged out Rosberg by 0.021s during the second session at Monza but engine upgrades enabled the pair to finish three-quarters of a second ahead of nearest rival Sebastian Vettel. "I didn't particularly hook up the first two sectors this afternoon they were definitely better in the morning," said Hamilton. "So, I'm sure there's some pace to find […]