Max Verstappen set the fastest lap in the history of F1 by average speed on course to narrowly taking pole position at Monza.
Q1
Cheers rang out for Lewis Hamilton as he came out of the pits for his first Italian Grand Prix qualifying as a Ferrari driver, though it would be impossible for him to take pole position after getting a 5 place grid penalty after the Dutch Grand Prix for failing to slow under double yellow flags on the reconnaissance lap.
Track evolution appeared to be rather significant throughout Q1, with Alonso and Bortoleto being in the top 5 and Russell going fastest on medium tyres all with six minutes left in the session.
F1’s newest podium sitter would have a much worse time in qualifying at Monza, joining Stroll, Colapinto, Gasly and Lawson in getting knocked out in Q1.
Alex Albon was almost something of a surprise exit in Q1, given that Monza has in recent years been one of their stronger tracks, as well as their decent practice results, but he was just able to hang on in 15th place.
ELIMINATED
16. Isack Hadjar – Racing Bulls +0.080
17. Lance Stroll – Aston Martin +0.111
18. Franco Colapinto – Alpine +0.155
19. Pierre Gasly – Alpine +0.266
20. Liam Lawson – Racing Bulls +0. 442
Q2
Albon continued to have some struggles at the start of Q2 when he went wide at the entry of the Ascari chicane, killing any chance of a competitive banker time.
Norris locked up on the entry of turn 1 at the start of his banker lap, a mistake he can I’ll afford to make as even though the McLaren is fastest, it would only give him one shot at getting through to Q3. He would rectify this by heading immediately back out on new tyres, but would only be good enough for 7th place.
It turns out that Albon’s 15th place in Q1 was closer to Williams’ true pace this weekend, as both Sainz and Albon are knocked out in 13th and 14th respectively.
Norris’ 7th quickly turned into 11th as the session came close to it’s end, but fortunately for the McLaren driver he was able to set one last lap, where he was able to carry himself up to 5th place.
ELIMINATED
11. Ollie Bearman – Haas +0.013
12. Nico Hulkenberg – Kick Sauber +0.065
13. Carlos Sainz – Williams +0.095
14. Alex Albon – Williams +0.150
15. Esteban Ocon – Haas +0.274
Q3
The fight for pole position appeared to be incredibly tight, with both McLarens, Ferraris, Russell and Verstappen all appearing to be in the fight for the top spot after the banker laps are set.
And it would be Verstappen who took the early lead, becoming the first driver to dip into the sub 1.19 times as he went onto provisional pole position ahead of Leclerc and Piastri.
Neither Ferrari was able to improve their lap on their final runs, resulting in the two dropping to 4th and 5th by the end of the session, which will turn into 10th for Hamilton due to his grid penalty.
Piastri would also fail to improve despite two purple sectors, and would just have to sit and wait to watch Norris go faster than him, who briefly took pole position before Verstappen snatched back the top spot, setting a new lap record at the temple of speed.
Qualifying Results
1. Max Verstappen – Red Bull 1.18:792
2. Lando Norris – McLaren +0.077
3. Oscar Piastri – McLaren +0.190
4. Charles Leclerc – Ferrari +0.215
5. Lewis Hamilton – Ferrari +0.332 (5 PLACE GRID PENALTY)
6. George Russell – Mercedes +0.365
7. Andrea Kimi Antonelli – Mercedes +0.408
8. Gabriel Bortoleto – Sauber +0.598
9. Fernando Alonso – Aston Martin +0.632
10. Yuki Tsunoda – Red Bull +0.727
