Pirelli, Hembery: “The tactics for the race will be extremely interesting”

Temperatures still high in qualifying for the Italian Grand Prix, with track temperatures of 44°C and ambient temperatures of 31°C. In the past, the strategy for the Monza race has focused on a single stop, but the choice of supersoft tires for the first time - with three compounds now named for each race - could introduce a new variable, and it is not excluded that there they are also two-stop strategies.

For the last six years, drivers starting from pole position have always won at Monza, so qualifying here is crucial. Lewis Hamilton took pole, just like last year (when he had a grand slam, fastest lap and victory), using supersofts and beating the 2015 pole by around 2,2 seconds. Ferrari was the only team to pass Q1 using only the soft tires. Ultimately, Sebastian Vettel will start from third position and Kimi Raikkonen from fifth.

In Q2, however, both Mercedes drivers were the only ones to use the softs (Red Bull also tried, before fitting the supersofts) – so this is the compound they will start the race with tomorrow. The battle in Q3 took place entirely on the supersofts: Hamilton took pole with a time of 1m21.135s, ahead of teammate Nico Rosberg.

Paul Hembery, Pirelli motorsport director: “Track temperatures remained more or less the same as yesterday, and the top teams implemented their strategy right from the start of qualifying. In Q2, for example, the Mercedes drivers were the only ones to pass using only the soft tires. Both have saved a set of supersofts and will be the only ones in the top 10 starting tomorrow on the softs. With the possibility of one or two stops, the tactics for the Grand Prix will be extremely interesting".