Max Verstappen storms to record-breaking pole at Monza

MAX VERSTAPPEN delivered a historic lap to claim pole position for the Italian Grand Prix at Monza on Saturday.

The Red Bull driver set a lap time of 1:18.792, averaging 264.6km/h, which established a new Formula 1 lap record for speed. It was his fourth pole of the season and the 45th of his career, surpassing Sebastian Vettel’s record at Red Bull.

Sky Sports F1’s Martin Brundle described it as a classic performance, while Nico Rosberg called it magic and suggested the car itself was not worthy of pole.

Verstappen himself said: “Q3 felt good, happy with the laps and to be on pole here is fantastic.”

McLaren push Red Bull close

McLaren looked strong throughout qualifying, with Lando Norris briefly holding provisional pole after clocking 1:18.869 in Q3. His lap beat Lewis Hamilton’s previous Monza record from 2020, only for Verstappen to go quicker by 0.077 seconds.

Norris admitted he had a tricky start to Q3 and was lucky to escape Q2 after a mistake. 

Oscar Piastri will line up third, keeping his 34-point lead over Norris in the standings with nine rounds remaining.

Team principal Andrea Stella noted that the McLaren is quicker in corners but loses time on the straights. This, he predicted, would result in a compact race field due to the high-grip surface at Monza, which could reduce McLaren’s usual advantage over long runs.

Ferrari on home soil

Charles Leclerc, a two-time Monza winner, qualified fourth but admitted that he was not surprised to be behind Verstappen and the McLarens. “They had something more than us for this weekend,” he explained. Leclerc added that he could not do much more and expected overtaking to be difficult with less powerful DRS on skinny rear wings.

Teammate Lewis Hamilton qualified fifth but carries a five-place penalty from the Dutch Grand Prix, dropping him to 10th on the grid. He said Ferrari had made progress since the summer break and described his excitement for his first Monza race with the team. “I’m hoping to wiggle my way through,” he said, pointing to Ferrari’s good top speed and the potential for strategy to play a role.

The rest of the field

Further down, George Russell will start sixth, with Kimi Antonelli in seventh and Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto a standout in eighth.

Williams drivers Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon both exited in Q2, finishing 13th and 14th. Isack Hadjar was eliminated in Q1 and will start from the pit lane following a power unit change.