Italian Grand Prix Qualifying: Charles Leclerc seals pole position for Ferrari

Charles Leclerc is the man of the moment. After securing his first pole position and his maiden Formula One victory in last week's Belgian Grand Prix, he quickly followed it up with another pole position at the Italian Grand Prix.

Ferrari are always clear favorites in Monza. This year, the tifosi may have just found a new hero in Charles Leclerc. The stands erupted with cheers and applause as Leclerc crossed the finish line to confirm his second consecutive pole position. His teammate, Sebastian Vettel, was sadly left in fourth position after being caught out as one of the seven drivers who failed to complete a flying lap when Q3 resumed after a red flag incident.

Alfa Romeo's Kimi Raikkonen crashed into the tire barrier when the back of his car got away from him in the high speed Parabolica curve. The crash led to a red flag, with over six minutes left in the session. At this point, Leclerc was holding provisional pole even if he wasn't able to get a slipstream tow from Vettel during his flying lap. Vettel made a slight error and had to go through an escape route during the outlap. This led to him messing up the pre-planned strategy of towing his teammate through the flying lap. Nevertheless, Leclerc managed to secure the top spot before the session was stopped.

In a completely bizarre development, all nine drivers who were still in the race for pole decided to wait until the last possible moment to come out for their final flying lap. They were all waiting for someone else to come out first in order to benefit from the slipstream. Sadly, it all went horribly wrong for everyone except Charles Leclerc.

Because the teams waited too long, seven out of the nine cars left in the session ran out of time before they were able to go out on a flier. Only Leclerc and McLaren's Carlos Sainz were able to clock in their final times. It was a complete circus, with Leclerc and Sainz on a flying lap while everyone else was left with their mouths wide open as they watched the chequered flag being waved in front of them before they could make an attempt.

Here are the full results:

The two Mercedes drivers ended up splitting the two Ferraris. Lewis Hamilton is satisfied with the result, despite the unusual final moments. He said that despite missing out on pole, he and his teammate are in a good position to fight for the victory in tomorrow's Italian Grand Prix.