MONZA, Italy — Red Bull driver Max Verstappen pulled a fast lap out of the bag to claim pole for Sunday’s Italian Grand Prix.
Verstappen edged McLaren teammates Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri to claim the top spot.
Verstappen turned a lap of one minute and 18.792 seconds to top Norris’ best lap of 1:18.169.
“I think around here with the low downforce, it’s always very difficult to nail the lap – under braking it’s easy to make mistakes also, but Q3 felt good,” said Verstappen. “Happy with the laps, and of course to be on pole here for us is fantastic. The car’s been working a lot better the whole weekend, and to be able to fight for pole, I’m very happy with that.
“It was tight. We were still lacking a tiny amount, made some final changes which I think allowed me to push a bit more, and that’s exactly what you need in Qualifying, so for us it’s a great moment.”
Piastri was third on the charts with Ferrari wheelmen Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton rounding out the top five.
