Qualifying report and highlights for the 2024 Italian Grand Prix: Lando Norris secures pole position in Monza ahead of Oscar Piastri and McLaren secures the front row

Q2 – Hamilton leads and Alonso narrowly misses the cut

After a slight delay in Q2 due to gravel being swept off the track, Sainz led the field as the action got underway, with several teams appearing to take advantage of slipstreams as the opening laps of the session rolled across the scoreboard.

Norris was once again the fastest after these opening runs. With a lap time of 1:19.727 minutes, the McLaren driver was eight hundredths of a second ahead of his teammate Piastri, while Verstappen was third fastest, just over a tenth of a second behind Norris.

The picture changed, however, when the Mercedes duo reappeared on fresh tyres and Hamilton displaced Norris from P1. With the gaps still good – Hamilton's lead was just 0.086 seconds – it seemed all was still up for grabs ahead of the second runs. Further back, Alonso, Magnussen, Gasly, Ocon and Ricciardo were the drivers at risk.

As everyone except Norris and Sainz returned to the track for their final attempt, Albon and Hülkenberg improved to make it into the top 10, just behind Perez in P8. All eyes were then on Alonso in P11, but the two-time champion missed Q3 by just a hundredth of a second.

Ricciardo was also unable to improve his time and retired in P12, while Magnussen, Gasly and Ocon were eliminated in 13th, 14th and 15th places.

Eliminated: Alonso, Ricciardo, Magnussen, Gasly, Ocon