Italian Grand Prix Qualifying: Max Verstappen takes pole, McLaren snatches dominance from Ferrari

Max Verstappen is back to domination after bagging pole at the Italian Grand Prix in Monza on Saturday. The Red Bull driver will be joined in the front row by Lando Norris, while his McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri will be starting the Sunday race in third position.

The Ferrari boys Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc had dominated the practice on Friday but couldn’t finish among the top three in the qualifying.

Italian Grand Prix Qualifying highlights

Max Verstappen gained a massive advantage by grabbing pole position on Saturday. Sharing his happiness after the qualifying, he said, “I think around here with the low downforce, it is always difficult to nail the lap. Q3 felt good, liked the laps and the car has been working better the whole weekend.

We made some final changes that allowed me to push a bit more, and for us it is a great moment.”Lando Norris finished second after topping the practice session earlier in the morning. The McLaren boys will once again be racing tyre to tyre on Sunday. Calling Verstappen a big challenge, he said, “Max has been quick all weekend. It was quite a session from me, up and down, so to pull it out on the last lap is a good feeling. P2 is not a bad position to be off the line.

A good position for tomorrow and excited for the race. Our race on Sunday is normally our strength, but to get past Max will be a big challenge.

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How the other F1 drivers fared in Italian Grand Prix Qualifying

Charles Leclerc had lifted the winner’s trophy at Ferrari’s home race in Monza last year. However, he will have to try slightly harder this Sunday as he qualified in fourth position on the grid. He had finished second in both the first and second free practice sessions on Friday.Lewis Hamilton also faced disappointment by taking the fifth spot on the grid. He had topped FP1 on Friday in his first-ever Ferrari appearance in Monza.

The Ferrari duo was followed by the Mercedes duo. While George Russell took the sixth position, Kimi Antonelli followed him in the seventh spot. Kick Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto was in eighth, while Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso remained a consistent figure in ninth.

Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda took the tenth position.The Italian Grand Prix final will start at 3 pm local time (6:30 IST) on Sunday. The weather is expected to remain dry and warm.

Disappointments for Kimi Antonelli, Carlos Sainz in Monza

After bagging his first-ever podium in Zandvoort, things have not been looking in Isack Hadjar’s favour in Monza. The Racing Bulls driver exited as early as in Q1 itself, and it was the first-ever Q1 exit of his F1 career.Williams driver Carlos Sainz had also shown promise by finishing among the top three in practice sessions on Friday. But he couldn’t finish any better than 13th position.