Under scorching conditions, Lando Norris secured pole position for the Italian Grand Prix in Monza on Saturday afternoon. This marks Norris’s fourth pole of the season and his third in the last four races. Max Verstappen will only start from the fourth row in the year’s fastest race, recording the seventh time in the qualifying session.
Here’s a quick overview of the qualifying for the Italian Grand Prix in Monza:
Q1: Norris Takes the Lead Immediately
At the start of Q1, the thermometer in Monza reads 33 degrees Celsius, with the asphalt temperature at 50 degrees. Many eyes are on Williams debutant Franco Colapinto, who is replacing Logan Sargeant. However, he is eliminated immediately, partly due to a detour through the gravel. On the newly laid asphalt and with adjusted (lower) kerbstones, the lap times are already below Carlos Sainz’s pole time from last year (1.20,294). Lando Norris (McLaren) leads the field with a fastest time of 1.19,911.
Q1 Dropouts: Yuki Tsunoda, Lance Stroll, Franco Colapinto, Valtteri Bottas, and Guanyu Zhou.
Q2: Hamilton Fast, Ahead of Verstappen
The second part of the qualifying starts with some delay due to the track needing to be cleaned after Colapinto’s earlier detour through the gravel in Lesmo II. In the first series of fast runs, Lewis Hamilton is the fastest on new softs (1.19,641), followed by Norris and Sainz. In the final phase of Q2, Max Verstappen improves to the second time, 0.021 seconds behind Hamilton. The three-time world champion thus stays ahead of Norris and Sainz in this phase.
Q2 Dropouts: Fernando Alonso, Daniel Ricciardo, Kevin Magnussen, Pierre Gasly, and Esteban Ocon.
Q3: McLarens Dominate the Field
In the first series of fast runs, the McLarens of Norris and his teammate Oscar Piastri take the lead. They clock the fastest times: 1.19,401 and 1.19.436. Verstappen lags behind at the eighth time (1.20,072), due to a ‘oversteer moment’ in Parabolica. He complains over the radio about a ‘shocking’ lack of grip. Norris improves his time in the final phase to 1.19,327, securing pole position, just ahead of Piastri. Verstappen has to settle for the seventh time.
Top-10 qualification: Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri, George Russell, Charles Leclerc, Carlos Sainz, Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen, Sergio Pérez, Alexander Albon, and Nico Hülkenberg.
The Italian GP starts tomorrow at 15.00 Dutch Time (6.00 UST).
Results
For more information about the Italian GP in Monza, please visit the official Formula 1 website.
