VERSTAPPEN TAKES POLE AND SETS FASTEST FORMULA 1 LAP EVER AT MONZA
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen pulled off another brilliant lap to take pole position for the Italian Grand Prix, just ahead of McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri after a very close Qualifying session at Monza.
After struggling at this track last year, Verstappen and Red Bull looked far stronger this time, with the Dutchman proving to be a serious threat to McLaren. In the final part of Qualifying, Verstappen set the pace before being briefly overtaken by Norris, but he hit back with a superb 1m 18.792s lap to secure P1 by only 0.077s.
Piastri ended up third, 0.190s behind, followed by Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton. Hamilton, though, will drop five places on the grid because of a penalty.
Mercedes tried a different strategy by starting on medium tyres before switching to softs, which left George Russell and home driver Kimi Antonelli sixth and seventh.
Gabriel Bortoleto impressed with eighth for Kick Sauber, continuing the team’s positive run under new boss Jonathan Wheatley. Fernando Alonso in the Aston Martin and Yuki Tsunoda in the second Red Bull completed the top 10.
Ollie Bearman just missed out on the final shootout in 11th place, while his team mate Nico Hulkenberg managed only 12th after struggling to match Bortoleto.
Williams, who had shown good speed in practice, could not carry it into Qualifying, with Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon ending up 13th and 14th, just ahead of Esteban Ocon in the Haas.
Isack Hadjar, fresh from his maiden podium at the Dutch Grand Prix, made a mistake in Q1 and was knocked out in 16th for Racing Bulls, finishing behind Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll.
Franco Colapinto had a tough start to the weekend but did better than Alpine team mate Pierre Gasly, who had just extended his contract. Liam Lawson ended last after losing his best lap to track limits.
In the first stage, Russell surprised everyone by going fastest on mediums while most others used softs. Leclerc set an early target for Ferrari fans, but McLaren soon moved ahead with Norris and Piastri.
Williams drivers lost laps to track limits, while Ocon complained on the radio about leading the pack without a tow. In the end, Russell stayed top as Hadjar, Stroll, Colapinto, Gasly and Lawson were eliminated.
In the second stage, Norris had a scare when he locked up at the first corner and had to abandon his lap. Verstappen went to the front with a 1m 19.140s, ahead of Russell and Piastri, while Bortoleto impressed again in fourth.
Norris rejoined quickly but his first banker lap only put him seventh, raising concerns. On his final attempt he managed to climb to fifth and safely go through to the final round, along with Verstappen, Russell, Piastri, Antonelli, Leclerc, Bortoleto, Alonso, Hamilton and Tsunoda. Bearman, Hulkenberg, Sainz, Albon and Ocon missed out.
In the final part, Piastri and Leclerc both briefly held top spot, but Verstappen soon went quickest. Norris’s first lap was only good enough for seventh, but he came back with a much stronger effort to take provisional pole with a 1m 18.869s.
Moments later, Verstappen responded with an even faster 1m 18.792s, setting a new track record and securing pole position. Piastri finished third, with Leclerc and Hamilton behind, though Hamilton’s penalty will drop him further down the order and move Russell, Antonelli, Bortoleto, Alonso and Tsunoda up the grid.
Share this content:
