Max Verstappen shines at Monza, takes pole position for Italian Grand Prix
Max Verstappen delivered a stunning performance at the Italian Grand Prix qualifying in Monza. In a tense and exciting session, he clocked a late, lightning-fast lap to secure pole position, beating McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri in one of the closest qualifying battles of the season.
After last year’s challenging race at Monza, Red Bull came back stronger and more competitive. Verstappen showcased this by setting a slick lap time of 1 minute 18.792 seconds right at the end of Q3. He finished just 0.077 seconds ahead of Norris, while Piastri was close behind in third place, only 0.190 seconds off Verstappen’s pace. This all-McLaren fight keeps the excitement high ahead of race day.
Ferrari fans had hoped their team could start at the front at their home race. Charles Leclerc got fourth, while Lewis Hamilton lined up fifth, but the seven-time world champion will start six places lower because of a grid penalty. This gives Ferrari a better shot at the top spots on Sunday.
Mercedes tried a different approach in qualifying. They started with medium tires before switching to softs, hoping to gain an advantage. The tactic worked reasonably well, helping George Russell and young French driver Kimi Antonelli to qualify in sixth and seventh places.
A notable highlight of qualifying was Brazilian driver Gabriel Bortoleto. Just starting his debut season, he impressed everyone by qualifying eighth with his Kick Sauber team. His strong performance added to the team’s momentum under new boss Jonathan Wheatley.
Fernando Alonso also made good progress, finishing ninth for Aston Martin, while Yuki Tsunoda managed tenth in the second Red Bull, meaning the defending champions have two cars in the top ten.
Outside the top ten, Ollie Bearman kept impressing everyone by just missing out on Q3, finishing 11th. He was only one hundredth of a second behind the cutoff. His Haas teammate, Esteban Ocon, struggled more and ended up 15th. Nico Hulkenberg in the other Kick Sauber team took 12th, but couldn’t match the pace of his teammate Bortoleto.
Williams showed promising pace in practice but dropped back during qualifying. Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon finished 13th and 14th respectively, still good positions but outside the top spots.
Young driver Isack Hadjar from Zandvoort had a tough session after making a mistake in Q1, which left him 16th. He will start behind Lance Stroll in the Aston Martin.
At Alpine, Franco Colapinto managed a small victory by defeating teammate Pierre Gasly, who had just renewed his contract earlier in the day. Liam Lawson finished at the back of the pack after losing time for exceeding track limits.
Stay tuned for an exciting race at Monza, with Verstappen on pole and plenty of race strategies to watch out for!
