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Max Verstappen snatches Italian Grand Prix pole from both McLarens
Max Verstappen took pole position for the Italian Grand Prix, beating both McLarens on Saturday in Monza.
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Q1
Qualifying in Monza started under bright blue skies. Ferrari set the early pace with Charles Leclerc just ahead of Lewis Hamilton. Carlos Sainz lost his first lap for exceeding track limits at Lesmo 2, and Max Verstappen ran wide at the same corner. The McLarens soon showed speed, with Lando Norris edging Oscar Piastri by a tenth.
George Russell impressed by going fastest on medium tyres, while Andrea Kimi Antonelli struggled for grip and only managed to save his session on softs. Fernando Alonso surprised with a lap close to the top runners. At the back, mistakes and lack of pace saw Isack Hadjar, Lance Stroll, Franco Colapinto, Pierre Gasly, and Liam Lawson knocked out.
Eliminated in Q1: Hadjar, Stroll, Colapinto, Gasly, Lawson.
Q2
The second part of qualifying started slightly late to clear gravel from the track. Williams led the way, with Sainz towing Albon, but Albon ran wide at Ascari and wasted the lap. Verstappen used a tow from Piastri to go fastest, with Russell close behind.
Norris had to abort his first lap after locking up at Turn 1, leaving him without a time. On a new set of softs and with help from Piastri, he climbed to fifth on his final run. Antonelli impressed again, coming within a tenth of Verstappen, while Piastri took third. Albon continued to struggle, Sainz could not find pace, and the Haas pair were also eliminated.
Eliminated in Q2: Bearman, Hulkenberg, Sainz, Albon, Ocon.
Norris hasn't set a Q2 time yet because of this 👀#F1 #ItalianGP pic.twitter.com/sZ7K6T5BMm
— Formula 1 (@F1) September 6, 2025
Q3
The fight for pole was intense. Norris led the first runs but lacked a slipstream, leaving Piastri ahead after following Antonelli. Leclerc briefly went fastest, but Verstappen lowered the benchmark. Hamilton, Russell, and rookie Gabriel Bortoleto all set strong laps, leaving Norris only seventh after the first attempts.
In the final runs, Tsunoda led the queue despite a battery issue, followed by Leclerc, Hamilton, Piastri, and Norris. Verstappen led the second group. Using a perfect tow from Piastri, Norris took provisional pole, but Verstappen responded immediately with a lap record of 1:18.792, beating Norris by seventy-seven thousandths.
Verstappen will start from pole, with Norris alongside him and Piastri in third. Leclerc is fourth, Hamilton fifth, Russell sixth, Antonelli seventh, Bortoleto eighth, Alonso ninth, and Tsunoda tenth.
Another record for Max 🤩
— Formula 1 (@F1) September 6, 2025
Verstappen takes his 45th pole for Red Bull overtaking Sebastian Vettel's tally#F1 #ItalianGP pic.twitter.com/UuC0gmheXK
