2026 Italian Grand Prix - Saturday

Allan McNish, Racing Director: “Overall, I think we got the maximum out of the car today. It’s obviously slightly frustrating to miss out on Q3 by just 0.001 of a second, but we knew coming into Monza that it was likely to be a more challenging weekend for us. Qualifying was incredibly tight, as expected, but we maximised the opportunities we had and put ourselves in the best position possible. With the grid penalties ahead of us, we’ll move up a few places, so we’ll see what we can do tomorrow with Nico and Gabi and make the most of the race.”

Nico Hulkenberg (Car 27):
FP3: 11^th / 1:23.126 (22 laps)
Q1: 1:23.440 (6 laps)
Q2: 13^th / 1:22.779 (6 laps)

"It was a tricky qualifying. Around Monza, getting the timing and the tow right makes a big difference, and in Q1 I found myself in the wrong place a couple of times, which made it difficult to put a proper lap together. Things improved in Q2 and the pace started to come, but by then it was just a little too late to make the next step.

"Tomorrow won't be straightforward from where we're starting, but we've shown over the last few weekends that we can race well. We'll look to make progress where we can and make the most of every opportunity that comes our way."

Gabriel Bortoleto (Car 5):
FP3: 13^th / 1:23.298 (21 laps)
Q1: 1:22.946 (6 laps)
Q2: 11^th / 1:22.517 (6 laps)

"Our last push lap was good, so it's obviously a shame to miss out on Q3 by such a small margin. I had a little moment with the rear in Turn 8 and lost a bit of time there, but I don't think there was much more we could have extracted from the car today.

"Overall, I've been quite happy with how this weekend has gone so far. The team has done an incredible job and, even at a track we expected to be more challenging for us, we have still managed to be in the mix. I think we can be in the fight for points tomorrow. It won't be easy, because the cars around us are quick as well, but we'll make the most of every opportunity."