Verstappen beats Norris at Monza with stunning pole as Ferrari left empty-handed

Max Verstappen claimed a brilliant pole at Monza ahead of the two McLarens, while Ferrari had to settle for fourth and fifth, with Leclerc finishing ahead of Hamilton. Here’s the full report from the Italian Grand Prix qualifying!

Charles Leclerc at Monza

Q1

In Q1, Mercedes topped the timesheets, with George Russell setting the fastest lap at 1:19.414—the only driver to post a time on medium tires, unlike the rest of the field.

Max Verstappen finished second by just 0.041 seconds, the first among the drivers on soft tires, narrowly ahead of Lando Norris by just a few thousandths.

Yuki Tsunoda also performed well, ending up fourth, while Carlos Sainz, in the Williams, rounded out the top five. The two Ferraris were slightly further back, with Charles Leclerc in ninth and Lewis Hamilton in twelfth.

The drivers eliminated in Q1 were: 16th Isack Hadjar, 17th Lance Stroll, 18th Franco Colapinto, 19th Pierre Gasly, and 20th Liam Lawson.

Q2

In Q2, Max Verstappen topped the session with a time of 1:19.140, just ahead of an impressive Kimi Antonelli, who finished second after narrowly surviving Q1. Oscar Piastri claimed third, finishing ahead of George Russell.

Lando Norris narrowly avoided elimination, ending up fifth after staying on the edge until his final attempt.

The two Ferraris, Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton, finished sixth and ninth respectively, with Hamilton securing a spot in Q3 alongside Yuki Tsunoda, the last driver to advance.

Drivers eliminated in Q2 were Oliver Bearman, Nico Hulkenberg, both Williams cars with Carlos Sainz ahead of Alexander Albon, and Esteban Ocon in fifteenth.

Q3

The first run in Q3 saw Max Verstappen set the provisional pole with a time of 1:18.923, just 84 thousandths ahead of Charles Leclerc and a tenth faster than Oscar Piastri. Hamilton was fourth, still facing a five-place grid penalty, while Russell provisionally completed the top five.

Max Verstappen confirmed his dominance in the final attempt, securing pole with a time of 1:18.792, just ahead of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. The two Ferraris finished fourth and fifth, while the Mercedes cars of Russell and Antonelli ended up sixth and seventh. Bortoleto took eighth, with Alonso and Tsunoda rounding out the top ten.

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