Italy – Qualifications: A session in suspense

After a third practice session cut short by rain, the drivers take to the track… in the rain once again! Therefore, the qualifying session begins on a soaked track for Q1, with the Mercedes cars being the first to head out, followed by the rest of the field.

The drivers are going to secure a time under these conditions as the rain is not expected to let up, quite the opposite! At the first heat, Valtteri Bottas already makes a mistake in the first chicane without having managed to give full power to his engine on the straight.

The rest is the fulfillment of a bad omen. A few minutes earlier, Romain Grosjean was complaining about the overly dangerous conditions. The penalty came on the following lap, at the end of the straight. In full aquaplaning, the Frenchman destroyed his Haas against the rails and caused the red flag in this session.

[VIDEO]

The dire conditions got the better of Romain #Grosjean! 😱 ☔🇮🇹

[Click on the link] ⏳https://t.co/5Ck9624fML

— La F1® sur CANAL (@LaF1SurCanal) September 2, 2017

The beginning of the end

Lewis Hamilton had previously set the fastest time, more than 2 seconds ahead of Sebastian Vettel’s Ferrari. The Briton took all the risks to set a time, but without making any mistakes. Behind him, only Grosjean, Marcus Ericsson, Valtteri Bottas, Carlos Sainz, and Kimi Räikkönen managed to set a time within 107% of the Mercedes.

After several methodical inspections of the track by the safety car, the race direction decides… to make no decision and wait for a usable window. This shouldn’t happen before 4:30-5:00 PM! Until then, stay tuned for any additional updates! Or pass the time, perhaps on console!

Here is the very provisional ranking of this unusual qualifying session:

1. Hamilton (Mercedes) 1:40.128

2. Vettel (Ferrari) 1:42.394

3. Grosjean (Haas) 1:43.355

4. Ericsson (Sauber) 1:43.801

5. Bottas (Mercedes) 1:44.391

6. Sainz (Toro Rosso) 1:44.492

7. Räikkönen (Ferrari) 1:44.792

Below 107%:

8. Magnussen (Haas) 1:49.214

9. Kyvat (Toro Rosso) 1:49.258

All the other drivers did not record lap times.