Report: Top 10 start confirmed after Qualifying in Monza

It has been a rollercoaster Saturday for Williams Racing at the Italian Grand Prix, but the team stepped up to all the challenges thrown towards them and have been rewarded with both cars starting from a top 10 grid spot.

All our best wishes are with Alex Albon who took unwell earlier this morning and later underwent treatment for appendicitis.

Nyck de Vries was drafted in shortly ahead of Free Practice 3 and the team quickly got to work adapting Alex’s FW44 to the Dutchman’s requirements.

The 2019 Formula 2 champion got 21 vital laps under his belt in the final hour of practice, whilst Nicholas Latifi refined his car to prepare for Qualifying.

Both drivers sat above the dotted line after their first Q1 push laps, but a Turn 1 lock up for Nicky saw him unable to improve and get narrowly knocked out in P16.

However, Nyck would make it through in his first taste of an F1 qualifying session, despite having his final push lap time deleted for a track limits violation.

In Q2, Nyck enjoyed a clean first push lap but a lock up at T4 on his final run saw him unable to improve upon his 1:22.471, placing him P13 in the session.

Final FIA confirmation on the starting grid saw Nyck promoted up to P8 and Nicky to P10 after numerous penalties had to be applied.

“First, I just want to say I feel bad for Alex and hope that his health and recovery will be quick,” Nyck shared after jumping out of the car, continuing: “Nevertheless, it was a great opportunity for myself, however, it’s challenging to just jump in like that.

“Overall, I’m happy with how it went but definitely feel there was more in it. Unfortunately, I picked up a lot of rear locking in my lap, but generally, it was a positive session.

“With the grid penalties, it’s positive to be starting further up the grid - I have some homework to do tonight but it’s great to get the call up.”

Across the other side of the garage, Nicky’s first thoughts were also with his teammate's health, saying: “Firstly, I'm wishing Alex a quick recovery and hope to see him back soon. I locked up into the first corner and didn’t get a lap on my second set of tyres.

“It’s frustrating but I’m where I expected to be as a result. It’s one of the trickiest corners for our car.

“Looking ahead to tomorrow, we’re quick in a straight line but we’ll lose time gained in the corners, so it’s going to be about how that balances out.

“We’ll be starting further forward due to a few penalties, so we’ll see what happens.”

Dave Robson, Head of Vehicle Performance, completed our Saturday action by reflecting on an eventful day for the team.

“Firstly, we send our best wishes to Alex and wish him a quick recovery. Secondly, we welcome Nyck to the team for his Formula One race debut.

“The team reacted very well to the news this morning that Nyck would drive for the rest of the weekend.

“We were able to prepare the car for him quickly and adapt the FP3 run programme to give him some productive track time.

“He reacted to the challenge expertly, helped by his running on Friday and his experience of the FW44 in Barcelona.

“He inherited Alex’s setup and was immediately happy, requiring only a change to the front wing flap angle to adapt the car to his style.

“Qualifying in Monza is usually tricky as drivers look to balance tyre preparation and track position. Today was no exception but we got both drivers into reasonable positions in Q1.

“However, both struggled a little bit with braking in a tow. Nicky had to abandon his final effort in Q1 and Nyck lost some time in Sector 1 but was able to recover and set a good lap time.

“Although this lap time was deleted for leaving the track, his earlier lap was good enough to progress to Q2.

“Nyck did an excellent job today and although he was frustrated not to put the final lap in Q2 together, he still starts inside the top 10 tomorrow.

“We have a lot to review with him to prepare him for tomorrow but we’re confident that both he and Nicky can have strong races tomorrow.”

Earlier in the day, Zak O’Sullivan was forced to pull over and retire from the Formula 3 Sprint, whilst action concluded on the 100th anniversary of Monza’s first-ever race with the Formula 2 Sprint – Logan Sargeant picking up five points for his P4 finish.