F1 Grid Slot Stats: Italian Grand Prix at Monza

Historically, the pole to win conversion rate at Monza is under 40%. In the 25 races held here between 1961 and 1986, the polesitter won only twice. The polesitter’s luck at Monza began to change at the dawn of the millennium, with all but five Monza races between 2000 and 2019 being won by the driver starting from the front of the grid. However, Charles Leclerc’s 2019 victory is the only time in the last five races at the track that the polesitter has won the race.

Since the turn of the millennium, Juan Pablo Montoya’s retirement in 2002, Lewis Hamilton’s late race crash in 2009 and Max Verstappen’s crash with Hamilton in 2021 are the only occasions that the polesitter has failed to finish the Italian Grand Prix, while Hamilton’s seventh place in 2020 is the only other time that the polesitter has failed to finish in the top two in that period.

In the last 16 Italian Grands Prix, the driver starting second has won only twice. Those wins were for Nico Rosberg in 2016 and for Daniel Ricciardo in 2021. Since 2001, Jenson Button’s retirement in 2012 is the only time that the driver starting from second on the grid has failed to finish at Monza. In total, the driver starting here has won 13 times and has finished on the podium 34 times.

In 2019, 2020 and 2021, the driver starting third at Monza finished as runner-up. Lando Norris ended that streak with a seventh place finish in 2022.

Third on the grid at Monza has had less non-finishes than any of the other top 20 grid slots at the circuit. There have been 19 non-finishes from this position in total, the most recent coming in 2007, when Felipe Massa retired from third on the grid with suspension failure. Since 1996, Ralf Schumacher’s non-finish in 2002 is the only other time that the driver starting here has failed to pick up points.

In 2018, Lewis Hamilton became the first driver to win here from third on the grid since Michael Schumacher in 1996. It was the 12th win in total from third on the grid at Monza.

The driver starting fourth at the Italian Grand Prix has scored a single point in the last four years and has retired from both of the last two Monza races.

The grid slot’s recent run of poor results comes after two consecutive podium finishes in 2017 and 2018. The driver starting fourth at Monza has won seven times – most recently in 2002.

Rubens Barrichello won the Italian Grand Prix from fifth on the grid in 2009. It was the second win from this grid slot at Monza, the first was for Alain Prost in 1985.

After Barrichello’s win, the driver starting here failed to finish for three consecutive years. Since then, fifth on the grid has failed to score only once, and has scored two podium finishes, with second for Fernando Alonso in 2013 and third for Felipe Massa in 2015.

Of the top six grid slots, fifth is the one which has scored on the least occasions. In 2020, Max Verstappen became the first driver to retire from this position since 2012.

In the last 17 seasons, the driver starting sixth has gone on to stand on the podium at the Italian Grand Prix on three occasions, most recently in 2017.

In 2022, Fernando Alonso’s retirement brought to an end an 18 race run of top ten results for the driver starting here – though Romain Grosjean was disqualified having started and finished sixth in 2018.

In 2022, Max Verstappen took the third win for the driver starting seventh at Monza. The two previous wins from this position were recorded by Denny Hulme in 1968 and Ronnie Peterson in 1974.

Of the top nine grid slots, seventh has had the least top ten finishes and the most non-finishes. In 2019, Carlos Sainz recorded the fourth retirement from this grid slot in the previous 11 seasons.

Verstappen in 2022 became the first driver to finish above fifth having started from seventh since Ralf Schumacher finished on the podium in 2000.

In the last 19 years, the driver starting from eighth has scored points at Monza 16 times – including in all of the last five seasons.

In 2020, Lance Stroll finished third having started eighth. It was the first podium finish for the driver starting eighth at Monza since Giancarlo Fisichella’s third place in 2005.

Romain Grosjean’s retirement in 2015 and Sergio Perez and Daniil Kvyat’s 12th place finishes in 2013 and 2017 respectively are the only three occasions on which this grid slot has failed to score since 2004.

The driver starting ninth retired from all of the first four Italian Grands Prix to be held as a round of the World Championship. In contrast, since 2004 there has been only one retirement from this grid slot, that being for Nico Rosberg in 2011.

Points from this grid slot have been rare in recent years. The driver starting here failed to score in every season between 2017 and 2020 – but Lance Stroll finished seventh having started ninth in 2021 and Zhou Guanyu added another point to this position’s tally in 2022.

Eight podium finishes have been recorded from ninth on the grid at Monza, including a win for John Surtees back in 1967.

Pierre Gasly won the 2020 Italian Grand Prix from tenth on the grid. His was the first victory from this grid slot. It was the fourth podium finish from here, the other three all being third place finishes – the most recent of which was for Fernando Alonso in 2012.

In the three years prior to Gasly’s win, the driver starting here finished ninth in all three seasons. The last two seasons have seen less impressive results – Fernando Alonso finished eighth in 2021, while Nicholas Latifi managed only 15th in 2022.

11th is the furthest back grid slot to have won the Italian Grand Prix. Peter Gethin won from that position in 1971, in what remains the closest ever finish to a Formula 1 race. Gethin crossed the line 0.01 seconds ahead of Ronnie Peterson.

The grid slot has scored a further three podium finishes since then, the most recent being third place for Robert Kubica in 2008. Since 2012, the driver starting here has not finished above ninth – something which they’ve done three times in that period.

There have been four podium finishes from 12th on the grid, the most recent of which was a second place finish for Sergio Perez in 2012.

Since then, the driver starting here has scored five times, including three times in the last five years.

In 2022, Sergio Perez finished sixth having started 13th on the grid. That was the best result for the driver starting 13th at Monza since 2000, when Alexander Wurz finished fifth. There have been only two results better than fifth recorded from here – fourth place for Louis Rosier in 1950 and a podium finish for Umberto Maglioli and José Froilán González, who shared a drive in 1954.

Unlucky number thirteen is certainly true at Monza. The grid slot has racked up 38 non-finishes over the history of the Italian Grand Prix at this track – the most of any position. Between 1974 and 1996, the driver starting here finished the race only four times in the 23 races. Better times have followed for the slot, with four of its 14 points-scoring races coming in the last 11 races.

While the last driver to retire from 14th on the grid was Heinz-Harald Frentzen back in 2003, in 2018 Sergio Perez finished seventh to take the first points finish from this position on the grid since Damon Hill 20 years previously.

The only other points-scoring race for this grid slot in the last 24 years came in 2021, when George Russell finished in ninth place. So, while a finish from here is likely, points-scoring races are rare. No driver has finished above sixth from this grid slot since Jean-Pierre Beltoise finished on the podium in 1970.

Nick Heidfeld’s seventh place in 2009 is the last time that the driver starting from 15th scored a point at the Italian Grand Prix.

Though the driver lining up here has finished all but two of the last nine races at Monza, the best result from those races is 11th for Charles Leclerc in 2018.

15th is the highest grid slot to have never given a podium finish at the circuit, with the best result being fourth for Arturo Merzario in 1974 and Karl Wendlinger in 1993.

In the last eight seasons, the driver starting 16th at the Italian Grand Prix has failed to finish four times. The better news is that on two of the four occasions that the driver lining up here made it to the end of the race, they scored points.

In 2017, Daniel Ricciardo recorded the second-best result from this grid slot with fourth place. The only time that has been bettered was in 1977, when Alan Jones finished third.

No driver has scored from 17th on the grid at the Italian Grand Prix since Jenson Button finished fifth in 2002. Both the 2008 and 2009 Italian Grands Prix resulted in tenth place finishes for the driver starting 17th, but that was before tenth was a points-paying position.

In the last 13 years, there have been five non-finishes from 17th on the grid. The best result from here is fourth, recorded most recently by Stefan Johansson in 1984.

Carlos Sainz finished fourth in the 2022 Italian Grand Prix, equalling the best result ever scored from 18th on the grid at Monza. Paco Godia also finished fourth in 1956.

While three drivers have scored points from 18th in the last eight years, they’re the only points-scoring occasions from this grid slot in the past 36 years.

The driver starting here has retired only twice in the past 18 years.

The driver starting 19th has finished in the top five in each of the last two Italian Grands Prix. In 2015, Daniel Ricciardo’s eighth place finish marked the first time that the driver starting 19th had scored points at Monza since Patrick Tambay finished fifth for McLaren in 1978. Since then, the grid slot has scored a further three times, with Valtteri Bottas recording this position’s first ever podium in 2021.

What do Gerhard Berger and Erik Comas have in common? They both finished in sixth place having started from 20th on the grid at Monza in 1984 and 1993 respectively. They’re the only two drivers to have finished in points-paying positions from this grid slot at the track; though ironically Berger was ineligible to score points at the 1984 event as he was driving the second ATS car and the team had only officially entered one car into the championship.

As a result of Kimi Raikkonen’s pit lane start in 2019 and Pierre Gasly’s pit lane start in 2021, the grid slot was left clear.

There have been three pit lane starters at the Italian Grand Prix. Marcus Ericsson finished 19th in 2014, Kimi Raikkonen finished 15th in 2019 and Pierre Gasly retired in the opening stages of the race in 2021.