In case you missed yesterday’s qualifying session, here’s a rundown of everything you need to know.
Max Verstappen sits on pole for tonight’s race after notching the fastest lap ever at Monza and the quickest lap in F1 history by average speed.
Max Verstappen takes pole.Credit: AP
The Dutchman set a new lap record in the final part of qualifying for Sunday’s race and Norris couldn’t quite match it, ending up .077 of a second behind the Red Bull driver, with Piastri 0.190 off the pace.
“Yes guys, yes. That is unbelievable,” Verstappen yelled over the team radio. “Relax here, it is all good.”
To put Verstappen’s extraordinary pace in perspective; the four-time world champion clocked a time of one minute, 18.792 seconds, for an average speed of 264.682km/h. That was almost a tenth of a second quicker than the one-lap record set by Lewis Hamilton on his way to pole at Monza in 2020.
Leclerc had briefly topped the standings early in Q3 to loud cheers from the Ferrari fans – matched by groans from the passionate red-clad tifosi when Verstappen went faster, moments later.
Norris will start in second on the grid with Piastri in third, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc in fourth and George Russell in fifth.
REMINDER: Hamilton ended the qualifying session in fifth but has been demoted due to a five-place grid penalty he picked up at Zandvoort last weekend.
