06/09/2025 17:07
Max Verstappen stormed to pole position at the Italian Grand Prix,
setting a new F1 record for the quickest lap in the championship's
history. Judged on average speed, the Red Bull driver's 1:18.792
averaged 264.7 kph and 164.47 mph, bettering Lewis Hamilton's pole
late at Monza from 2020. The Dutchman beat Lando Norris by almost a
tenth of a second as the pair secured their places on the front row
of the grid. Oscar Piastri was third-fastest at the Temple of
Speed, ahead of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton in fourth and
fifth, respectively. The Briton will, however, start tenth after
his five-place grid penalty from the Dutch Grand Prix is applied.
Isack Hadjar was consigned to the first Q1 elimination of his young
F1 career, just one week after his podium exploits at Zandvoort.
The Racing Bulls driver qualified P16, but is expected to start
from the pit lane with a power unit change after the 20-year-old
announced it during his post-session media duties. Full Italian
Grand Prix qualifying report continues below. Q3 As the cars left
the pits for the first runs of Q3, the McLarens found themselves
split by home hero Kimi Antonelli, something that meant Norris
could not provide the tow for Piastri. Further down the order,
Fernando Alonso managed to get himself between the Ferraris;
Leclerc ahead with Hamilton, grid penalty pending, behind. Yuki
Tsunoda appeared to be suffering from a battery issue, but no such
problems for the other RB21. Verstappen dropped the lap times into
the 1:18s to clinch provisional pole ahead of the Scuderia's cars,
with Piastri between the red machines. Norris found himself down in
seventh. George Russell, in fifth after the first runs, radioed
into Mercedes to question his soft tyres for the final push, saying
he thought he wanted the mediums again. Leclerc could not improve
with his time as he slipped down to fourth ahead of Hamilton,
beating the Mercedes pair of Russell and Antonelli into sixth and
seventh on the grid. The seven-time F1 drivers' champion's penalty
will elevate the Brackley-based squad's drivers up to the third
row. Gabriel Bortoleto and Alonso beat Tsunoda in the final top 10
positions. Q2 The start of Q2 was delayed for track cleaning after
Isack Hadjar kicked up gravel on the exit of the second Lesmo, a
mistake that proved critical in the Frenchman being knocked out in
Q1. When the segment did get underway, Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz
were quickly on circuit to get early banker times in. The former
went quicker in the first two sectors before a mistake in the third
left him two-tenths down on the latter. As the rest of the pack
filed out of the pit lane, the Williams pair were soon supplanted.
Verstappen set a 1:19.140 to go top, ahead of Russell and Bortleto
before the McLarens entered the fray. Piastri went third, but
Norris was curiously called back into the pits. It later transpired
that the British driver had cut the first corner and would have
seen his lap time deleted anyway. As a result, he headed back out
before his rivals in pursuit of a banker lap. The 25-year-old went
seventh-quickest with his first time, as part of a push-cool-push
approach. For all the promise shown by Williams through practice,
Sainz and Albon could not find the pace to reach Q3, only going
fast enough for P13 and P14, respectively. Norris, who had fallen
into the drop zone, made it into the final part of qualifying at
the death, knocking out Ollie Bearman, whilst Tsunoda and Hamilton
survived in ninth and tenth. OUT IN Q2: P11: Bearman, P12: Nico
Hulkenberg, P13: Sainz, P14: Albon, P15: Esteban Ocon Q1 The
Mercedes pair of Russell and Antonelli bucked the soft-tyre trend
for their first timed laps of the session, heading out onto the
circuit with medium-compound Pirellis strapped to their W16s.
Leclerc and Hamilton showed early promise, leading Q1 after five
minutes, but Sainz, who has been strong all weekend at Monza, had
his lap time deleted. Williams team-mate Albon would follow his
lead a few minutes later. Verstappen split the Ferraris with his
first push lap, whilst Norris and Piastri threw down a gauntlet,
going almost two and almost one tenth quicker than Leclerc,
respectively. The former McLaren driver set a 1:19.611. The track
showed considerable signs of improvement as the second timed laps
came down, Russell went top on his yellow-walled tyres, with Sainz
and Alonso slotting into third and fourth, with Bortoleto in fifth.
As the final push laps ensued, Liam Lawson ran wide at the first
Lesmo. He pitted at the end of the lap, which was subsequently
deleted for track limits. The New Zealander was joined by the two
Alpines, Lance Stroll and his Racing Bulls team-mate, who suffered
his first Q1 elimination of his F1 career. Albon narrowly survived.
OUT IN Q1: P16: Hadjar, P17: Stroll, P18: Franco Colapinto, P19:
Pierre Gasly, P20: Lawson
