Leclerc claims Monza pole amid chaotic finish to qualifying

Monza, Sept. 7: Charles Leclerc claimed his second consecutive pole position amid a chaotic finish to qualifying at the Italian Grand Prix.

With nine drivers poised to set their final flying lap in Q3 and just five hundredths of a second separating the top three, jostling for position on the out laps meant the leading men did not cross the line before time expired.

The outcome of the anticlimactic finish was Leclerc remained in the first position he had claimed after the first runs at Ferrari's home race, with Lewis Hamilton 0.039seconds behind in second and Valtteri Bottas just 0.047s back in third.

Sebastian Vettel was fourth ahead of Daniel Ricciardo and Nico Hulkenberg in the two Renaults.

As the session ended, race stewards promptly announced they would be investigating the events on the out lap.

Kimi Raikkonen had crashed earlier in Q3 to bring out a red flag just after the top drivers completed their opening efforts, delaying the conclusion of the session.

Carlos Sainz, who did cross the line in time amid the late drama, was seventh for McLaren, with Alex Albon, Raikkonen and Lance Stroll rounding out the top 10.