2012 Italian Grand Prix grid

2012 Italian Grand Prix

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Row 11. Lewis Hamilton 1’24.01
McLaren
2. Jenson Button 1’24.133
McLaren
Row 23. Felipe Massa 1’24.247
Ferrari
4. Michael Schumacher 1’24.54
Mercedes
Row 35. Sebastian Vettel 1’24.802
Red Bull
6. Nico Rosberg 1’24.833
Mercedes
Row 47. Kimi Raikkonen 1’24.855
Lotus
8. Kamui Kobayashi 1’25.109
Sauber
Row 59. Paul di Resta* 1’24.304
Force India
10. Fernando Alonso 1’25.678
Ferrari
Row 611. Mark Webber 1’24.809
Red Bull
12. Sergio Perez 1’24.901
Sauber
Row 713. Bruno Senna 1’25.042
Williams
14. Daniel Ricciardo 1’25.312
Toro Rosso
Row 815. Jerome D’Ambrosio 1’25.408
Lotus
16. Jean-Eric Vergne 1’25.441
Toro Rosso
Row 917. Heikki Kovalainen 1’26.382
Caterham
18. Vitaly Petrov 1’26.887
Caterham
Row 1019. Timo Glock 1’27.039
Marussia
20. Charles Pic 1’27.073
Marussia
Row 1121. Narain Karthikeyan 1’27.441
HRT
22. Pastor Maldonado** 1’24.82
Williams
Row 1223. Pedro de la Rosa 1’27.629
HRT
24. Nico Hulkenberg*** No time
Force India

*Five-place penalty due to gearbox change
**Two five-place penalties due to infringements during the Belgian Grand Prix
***Failed to beat 107% time, granted dispensation from the stewards to start

2012 Italian Grand Prix

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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66 comments on “2012 Italian Grand Prix grid”

  1. Way to ruin a weekend by Ferrari. At home, really?

    If I was a Ferrari fan, I’d be furious ! This really wasn’t the day to start helping MASSA !

    1. Traverse Mark Senior (@)
      8th September 2012, 14:10

      I think the plan was for Alonso to slipstream Massa on his first Q3 run, and then Massa repays the favour but it went belly up for some reason.

      1. Exactly, only they had to think of Alonso first then take care of Massa. Or maybe Massa forgot to repay the favor.

        1. Traverse Mark Senior (@)
          8th September 2012, 14:15

          Maybe Massa is dishing out some sweet revenge on Alonso…

      2. Glad it did, because it was a stupid idea.

      3. According to Ferrari on Twitter there was a possible failure of Alonso’s rear anti-roll bar. Either way all of a sudden Fernando can’t catch a break!

        1. Seems Horner might have been right about that a couple of races back then …

      4. @tmcs88 I know. But they were good for pole anyway. Did they really need to risk it like that? It could’ve ended very wrong… and it did. Even if they are now saying they had a rear Antirolll bar failure

        1. Traverse Mark Senior (@)
          8th September 2012, 14:17

          You’re right, there was no need to take the risk, I guess they were trying to be too smart for their own good.

        2. I understood from the interview with Dominicaly that the part broke in his FIRST run in Q3, so the second time he went out only to see what the car could do and help Massa anyway.

          1. @bascb yeah, just seen that.

          2. I simply don’t believe they would send out a crocked car for a second run.

            I get the impression that Massa was meant to repay the favour in the second run, didn’t do so, and the Ferrari PR machine came alive.

            I’m probably wrong though, I just can’t see why they would run Alonso in a faulty car and risk more damage?

    2. Was I the only one who saw Alonso’s mistake on his flying lap at the end of the session? I’m sure the plan was for Massa to give him a tow, repaying the favour. But Alonso messed up a corner and was then not close enough to benefit.

  2. Either Ferrari messed up in an unbelieveable fashion (just going out 15 seconds earlier would have helped to have a chance for another lap) or Alonsos car is broken in some way. Way to throw a championship out the window, but the car was fast so I’m hopeful for a good sunday.

  3. Oh no… I expected classic Mclaren-Ferrari fight but instead I got disaster of Alonso. What the hell happened? He was terribly slower in Q3 while fastest in Q1 and Q2. Anyway great day for Mclaren, bad for Alonso. Championship becomes more chaotic now.

    1. I still wonder why Alonso set a time at all, they knew something broke during the first lap which has been aborted. Then on the second attempt they should have seen than Alonso was not even close to 9th… As hard tyre could hold the entire race if needed according to Pirelli, this could have been a huge advantage to be able to chose their tyre tomorrow …
      (Did anyone quali on hard during Q3 ?)

  4. So Ferrari are starting to lose Fernando the title already just like they did in 2010? Whatt da hell did they think when they got Massa clock the time first, they should get the Championship contender home-free first then the No2. Plain stupid from Ferrari pit wall.

    1. It’s the curse, an Hamilton fan yesterday was preparing the curse, it started in Belgium and it’s working one less engine and gearbox and now a mistake, the curse may backfire, if you reading this reply Ham fan.

    2. davidnotcoulthard
      8th September 2012, 15:40

      @ Klaas: No, not like 2010. In 2010, they lost after catching up the leaders, not after leading by >20 points in the old system (If only F1 was still using it..)!

    3. No, that’s not the case. And you would have known if you had of waited for information rather than running out and waving your arms about.

      Secondly, Ferrari is a team, Alonso is a part of that team, they win and lose together. Any half hearted F1 fan should recognize that.

    4. @klaas

      Whatt da hell did they think when they got Massa clock the time first, they should get the Championship contender home-free first then the No2.

      Given that Alonso’s failure happened at the beginning if Q3 it would have made no difference.

      And complaining that Ferrari may lose the title for Alonso “like they did in 2010” rather overlooks Alonso’s role in selecting the strategy that cost him so dearly in Abu Dhabi and his preoccupation with Webber during the race.

      1. I absolutely agree with @keithcollantine. I mean cummon, I understand the typical tifosi sentiments but it was a reliability issue for Alonso and it was a fantastic lap by Felipe. Atleast we can cheer him on that,he is having a tough time around. Alonso was handling the reliability issue all week long so its a bit unfortunate to see him lying tenth but it has got nothing to do with towing around or Felipe taking the chance.

  5. I got everything right, the Mclaren lock-ou, but i was wrong about the Ferraris, Alonso loss the chance to make pole, i didnt factor that in, i thought the pole time was going to be 01:23.8 not 01:24, and Massa wow!

    1. Ooh i predicted Hamilton pole on 1:24.000, just 0.010 away! :)

  6. This grid really does wonders for the World Championship. A Hamilton Button 1-2 looks highly likely tomorrow, but will Alonso be able to get ahead of Vettel, and will Felipe finally get back on the podium?

    I’m disappointed Alonso had a problem on his final lap as I think he had a shot at the front row. Also disappointing is the lack of pace shown by Mercedes. Really thought they could mix it with the Ferraris and McLarens today.

    1. Alonso should be great to watch tomorrow!

      It’s sad for him, but great for the viewers :D

      1. That’s very true! Gonna be great to see some good fights throughout the field, Alonso may even repay Vettel for the brilliant overtake he pulled on Alonso last year!

  7. How did Red Bull lose 2.5 seconds compared to last year? Harder tyres +0.5s, loss of OBD +1s, where did the other second come from?

    1. Not getting into that exact small margin of performance, where the tires, the aero package, the engine and the drivers all work at their best. That specific segment of performance was much wider last year, thus easier to understand. Also, at least Vettel was much more confident in last year’s car than he is in this year’s. Just a thought. :)

    2. That illegal diffuser, and engine mapping to kill the torque at low speeds might have something to do with it.

      1. That illegal diffuser

        How tired I am of the misinformed fool that feels it necessary to attack a rival team. Red Bull have never raced an illegal car. The diffuser was completely legal when it was raced and as such they incurred no penalty, no matter how many complaints to the stewards. Illegal cars were the Saubers during the first race in Australia etc.
        This is Formula 1, not football. Accusations will get you nowhere without any evidence. If the car were to race now in that configuration, sure it would be illegal. But so would be the case if they had raced the FW14, otherwise every team would have had TC, ABS, active suspension etc. All I ask is you think before you speak.

  8. That was just right down silly by Alonso and Massa. Don’t know what happened but could it be that Massa didn’t fulfill his end of the agreement? Either way, slip streaming each other is a wrong way to get on pole. But Alonso didn’t need help and threw away his chance.

  9. I thought it was good tactics there at the beginning of Q3 by the Scuderia, but they should have had Alonso do a fast lap as soon as possible afterward. But I speak in hindsight.

    All Alonso can do now is sort out his strategy, and get his gearbox ahead of Vettel.

    1. And hope to make it through the first corner in one piece because he has Maldonado behind him.

      1. Maldonado is 12 places behind him though

        1. @bascb
          That certainly didn’t stop Liuzzi last year!

          1. Maldonado outdoing Liuzzi tomorrow, hm what an achievement if he would manage to do that!

        2. Oh, yeah, totally about the penalty, my bad. At least some good news for Alonso.

      2. Thankfully, a long way behind him. Sadly for me, he’s likely to take out both Caterhams now :'(

      3. Maldonado starts 22nd

  10. Traverse Mark Senior (@)
    8th September 2012, 14:12

    The question is will Ferrari support Massa tomorrow, seeing as he is their best chance for a podium.

    1. @tmcs88

      It excites me that Massa has a chance to shine. I really hope it goes well.

      Having said that, of the two Ferrari guys I’d still bet on Alonso making the podium.

    2. @tmcs88 If they have to pit at the same time, Alonso will be favor for sure, except if Massa is fighting and close to a win (which I don’t see happening)

    3. Traverse Mark Senior (@)
      8th September 2012, 17:24

      @mike & @jeanrien
      I hope Massa pulls out all the stops and adopts a hell for leather approach tomorrow. He should completely forget about Alonso and race his own race (unless Alonso’s is faster than him). Fortunately for him the cars behind don’t appear to have great pace, although vettel does have a knack for coming through the field whenever he has a bad qualifying session, in fact vettel is my tip for 3rd.

      1. @tmcs88 I hope for Massa he will do well but I fear he will have a lot of pressure. He is in a position where he could help Alonso in the champ and he has to avoid loosing Alonso any points and that’s what it is about for Massa unfortunatly …
        Would be great for the guy to finish on the podium but so many contender starting just behind him

      2. (unless Alonso’s is faster than him)

        Yes, like 2010 Hockenheim

  11. Facepalm moment for alonso…. trying to play oversmart and being overconfident that he will get pole….. too happy for massa…. :))

    tommorow macca are going to win race followed by vettel…..

  12. I have to say, as happy as I am that Lewis got pole, and the other positions are great for the championship, I’m very disapointed we didn’t get to see what was shaping up to be a furious battle for pole between Hamilton and Alonso

  13. I actually think that even without the help from Masa Alonso could easily get the Pole. Looking at the Q1 and Q2 times he should do better than Lewis’s time. Looking at Pole lap it wasn’t really that perfect.

    1. It wasn’t perfect due to the rear anti roll bar failure… which is a real tragedy. Alonso was on track to increase his WDC tally in Spa and Monza up until he had a bad run of bad luck

      Anyways I think he still has a shot to finish in P3 tomorrow if he pulls some of the magic we’ve seen all season

  14. .6s between Massa and Vettel is just plain weird. Things were much closer in practice. I think D’Ambrosio did a good job, a little hesistant at times but he knows he won’t be expected to push an unreasonable amount and for a driver in his position (without a drive) it’s a respectable result. I wonder what the race will bring though.

    Well done to Karthikeyan, wasn’t De La Rosa running the skinnier wing or has that changed?

    Bit of a nightmare for Alonso but I don’t think he has much to worry about. Vettel finished 2nd last week when starting 10th. He will be fine.

    1. @andrewtanner – Alonso’s championship lead is surely going to get eaten into, and Red Bull’s constructors lead too.
      Second your comment about Karthikeyan, finally he’s making progress!

  15. Okay just to spell it our for some ppl…. The fact that Alonso starts from P10 has NOTHING to do with Massa, he aided him on their FIRST timed lap of their FIRST run…. If you are even somewhat familiar with this track youll know, that the first lap of a run is not the ideal/fastest one but rather the 2nd or the 3rd.. The error occured on his 2nd timed lap, FAR away from Massa… Chances were, that he was not going to set the fastest time on his first lap anyway, so why not help Massa… HOWEVER in the end, this act did not matter, because Massa improved the time, set by him while slipstreaming Alonso, on his final run without his teammate’s help….

    1. No in his first flying lap when he was ahead of massa something broke. Then he went to por and even posted a decet time with such part broken.

  16. Poor Kartikeyan, outqualifying his teammate, only to find Maldonado behind!

    1. I laughed so much to that ! thanks @verstappen !

  17. As a dedicated FI fan, I am saddened by the bad luck. Anyway, Paul has a good chance to end up in top 6, if the race is planned well.

  18. Ferrari had technical problem, let’s not start the theory of Massa doing it on purpose. Alonso could have had the pole but I’m sure he will have a nice race maybe even a podium. I hope Massa would take some points away to HAMILTON. iNTERESTING GP coming up

  19. Everyone keeps going one and one about Alonso’s bad luck, but the way I see it it would have been an issue only if it had happened tomorrow in the race

  20. There are going to be a lot of hot points in tomorrow’s race, based on what happened on track in the last couple of days.

    Ferrari trying to keep, respectively get McLaren in sight with Red Bull and Lotus closely following; Force India taking on Mercedes; Sauber trying to conserve tyres and make a one stopper work. Plus, I expect the whole heap of mechanical issues and mistakes we’ve seen on track in practice and quali to take their toll as well.

    I must say I’m also a bit dissapointed with D’Ambrosio’s performance. I mean, I expected him to be quite far behind Raikkonen, but not that far. Struggling and barely getting into Q2 is a bit of an underperformance in that car, to be honest.

    1. Monza is a bit unfair to be your first race weekend, scary track the way they trim these cars

  21. I genuinely feel bad for both the Force India’s. I mean they are amazingly fast. Without Nico being down with that issue,it would definitely be tough for Vettle to go into the Q3. He was on the margin. I hope atleast the Force India can manage some good position with the strategy and the race pace(specially with Nico).

  22. William Brierty
    8th September 2012, 19:12

    Personally I think Lewis has diddily-squat chances of winning tomorrow because…
    1. He’s not in the zone mentally
    2. He has a in form teamate next to him, with slightly better race pace
    3. He has the pressure of knowing that he cocked it up the last time he was on pole at Monza
    4. He’s under immense pressure, a driver under pressure is more likely to mess up the start or make a mistake at another point during the race
    …so, I think Button already has one hand on the winner’s trophy.

    1. Lol he beats Button in every race he doesn’t get crashed into

      1. William Brierty
        9th September 2012, 9:24

        Well I hope you’re right because he has a great chance to close up the championship.

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