MONZA, Italy (AP) 鈥 It takes something special to beat McLaren this year.
And that’s what Max Verstappen produced on Saturday as he stunned title contenders Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri by snatching pole position for the Italian Grand Prix with the fastest lap ever at Monza.
Verstappen set a new lap record in the final part of qualifying for Sunday鈥檚 race and Norris couldn鈥檛 quite match it, ending up .077 of a second behind the Red Bull driver, with Piastri 0.190 off the pace.
鈥淵es guys, yes. That is unbelievable,鈥 Verstappen yelled over the team radio. 鈥淩elax here, it is all good.”
Four-time world champion Verstappen raced around the 3.54 miles (5.79 kilometers) of asphalt at the so-called Temple of Speed in a time of 1 minute, 18.792 seconds, for an average speed of 164.466 mph (264.682 kph). That was almost a tenth of a second quicker than on his way to pole at Monza in 2020.
And Formula 1 touted it as the fastest lap in F1 history by average speed.
Charles Leclerc qualified in fourth for Ferrari at the Italian Scuderia鈥檚 home race, just ahead of teammate Hamilton, who will start Sunday鈥檚 race in 10th as he serves a five-place grid penalty.
Leclerc had briefly topped the standings early in Q3 to loud cheers from the Ferrari fans 鈥 matched by groans from the passionate red-clad tifosi when Verstappen went faster, moments later.
Verstappen has been on pole position 44 times but just once at the Italian Grand Prix, where he has triumphed twice.
鈥淚t was tight, we were still lacking a tiny amount and we made some final changes which I think allowed me to push a bit more and that鈥檚 exactly what you need in qualifying,鈥 Verstappen said. 鈥淔or us, it鈥檚 a great moment.
鈥淗istorically this season the race has always been a little bit more complicated for us, but we are going to give it everything we have. That鈥檚 the only thing we can do and then we will see what happens tomorrow.”
It is a 45th pole position for Verstappen and a fifth this season, although only one of his two wins this year has come from the front of the grid.
He will be joined on the front row on Sunday by Norris, who trails Piastri by 34 points in the championship with nine races left of the season.
鈥淢ax has been quick all weekend and it鈥檚 never a surprise with Max,鈥 Norris said. 鈥淚t was quite a session from me, up and down and too many mistakes here and there. But to put it together on the last lap, I was pretty happy with P2.鈥
Norris almost didn鈥檛 make it out of Q2 as an early mistake meant he had to change tires and he needed a tow from Piastri to get out of danger and go through in fifth place.
Teenager Antonelli impresses
Italian teenager Kimi Antonelli was seventh-fastest, just behind Mercedes teammate George Russell as he bounced back in front of his home crowd.
The only Italian on the grid, Antonelli had a tough introduction last year as he at Monza 10 minutes into his first F1 practice session. The 19-year-old also ended Leclerc鈥檚 race at last weekend鈥檚 Dutch Grand Prix.
Russell and Antonelli will move up a place on the grid because of Hamilton鈥檚 penalty, as will Gabriel Bortoleto, Fernando Alonso and Yuki Tsunoda, who round out the top 10.
Hadjar’s disappointment
French rookie Isack Hadjar was 鈥渙ver the moon鈥 at a first F1 podium last week. It was back to earth with a thud as the 20-year-old driver was eliminated in Q1 on Saturday.
Hadjar would have started Sunday鈥檚 race from the pit lane in any case, due to an engine change.
鈥淚 made a mistake on my lap and that鈥檚 it. It鈥檚 my first mistake in qualifying in a while so it happens,鈥 the young Racing Bulls driver said. 鈥淚鈥檓 starting last tomorrow so even if I put it on pole I wouldn鈥檛 care because I鈥檓 starting from the back.鈥
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