Italian Grand Prix: Sebastian Vettel, Toto Wolff express disgust over qualifying disaster

Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel and Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff have both spoken up about their frustrations after a bizarre qualifying session at the 2019 Italian Grand Prix. On Saturday afternoon, both Mercedes drivers and Vettel were part of seven drivers who failed to make it to the line in time to register a final qualifying time.

Alfa Romeo's Kimi Raikkonen crashed at the Parabolica with over six minutes left in Q3. Once the session resumed, everyone waited until the last minute to come out. Basically, no one wanted to come out first because they all wanted to benefit from the slipstream of the car in front. At this point, Ferrari's Charles Leclerc was holding provisional pole position from his first attempt.

When Renault's Nico Hulkenberg finally came out, everyone bunched up behind him. Not wanting to be in front, Hulkenberg took an escape road and the Mercedes drivers let other pass them on the pit exit. At this point, everyone tried to slow down in an attempt to get someone else to overtake and provide a slipstream. In the end, all the delays caused seven drivers to reach the line too late to clock in a proper qualifying lap.

Wolff was not pleased by the antics and said, "That was not even worthy of a junior formula. The problem is everybody is trying to get a slipstream and it is a nerve game," he said. He went on to say that the drivers who went through the escape route and deliberately slowed down just made everyone "look like idiots" on the track.

In the end, Wolff had to settle with having his drivers, Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas on second and third on the grid, respectively. It's not a bad position but with Leclerc having won in Belgium, they are starting to feel a looming threat from Ferrari.

Vettel on the other hand, is not happy to have been out-qualified by his teammate for the seventh straight time this season. He only managed to secure fourth place behind the two Mercedes cars.

Considered to be the number one driver in Ferrari, Vettel will likely be feeling the pressure. He took took the escape route in the first run and failed to give his teammate a tow. Despite this, he expected to get assistance in the final run. "I was the one out front alone in the first run and I shouldn't have been the one in front in the second run," he said, in an interview shared by Fox Sports.

Vettel tried to get behind his teammate but he couldn't benefit from a slipstream when a slow-moving McLaren and a Renault blocked his path. In the end, Only Leclerc and Carlos Sainz made it to the line in time. Here's the final grid for today's race: