Dominant Verstappen edges out McLaren duo to secure pole position at the Italian Grand Prix
In the vibrant city of Monza, the Grand Prix is set for an exciting race as championship leader Oscar Piastri prepares to start from the third position. Piastri, who leads the World Championship with 324 points, will line up alongside Lando Norris in second and Max Verstappen in first.
Norris, 31 points behind Piastri, will start from the coveted pole position, a testament to his skills on the track. However, his qualifying session was a close-shave, almost missing a top 10 spot. Despite this, he managed to advance with no time to spare.
Norris's McLaren team has been dominating the season, winning 12 out of 15 races. But Ferrari, home to Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc, has struggled in qualifying. Hamilton, yet to obtain a podium finish this season, will start from the fifth position, but with a five-place grid penalty. Leclerc will start from the fourth position.
Hamilton trails Piastri by a significant 200 points in the championship standings, while Verstappen, the four-time world champion, is 104 points behind Piastri. Verstappen's qualifying performance was impressive, breaking the previous record set by Lewis Hamilton at the same track in 2020. He was 0.190 seconds faster than Piastri and 0.077 seconds faster than Norris.
Isaac Hadjar will start from the pitlane due to a power unit change. George Russell will start from the seventh position, but a lucky break comes his way as Kimi Antonelli, a home hope, will start the race from the sixth position, one place ahead of Russell due to Hamilton's penalty.
Norris expresses confidence in Ferrari's race pace, hoping for a strong performance from the Italian team. As the countdown to the race begins, the stage is set for a thrilling showdown in Monza.
