McLaren's rivals, Verstappen, claim the pole position at the Italian Grand Prix
In the latest qualifying session for the upcoming Grand Prix, Dutchman Max Verstappen secured the pole position with a time of 1 minute and 18.792 seconds. Verstappen's Red Bull teammate, Pierre Gasly, and Liam Lawson, Gasly's Racing Bulls teammate, will start from the back row of the grid after a tight Q1 saw them fail to progress.
Lando Norris, driving for McLaren, will start in the second position on the grid, just 0.077 seconds behind Verstappen. Oscar Piastri, Norris' teammate, will start in the third position. Charles Leclerc will start the race in fourth position, while Lewis Hamilton, who will have a five-place grid penalty, will start in fifth.
Isack Hadjar, a 20-year-old F1 rookie, secured 16th spot on the grid, a significant drop from his last race's podium finish. Hadjar's starting position does not offer a good chance for a podium finish this time around, and it seems unlikely that he will repeat last weekend's feat.
George Russell will start the race in eighth position, while Kimi Antonelli, a driver who will start alongside Verstappen, driving for Mercedes this year and recently announced as a driver in Bologna, will start the race in seventh position.
In the drivers' standings, Oscar Piastri leads Lando Norris by 34 points. With such a close competition, the upcoming race promises to be an exciting one. However, with Hamilton's grid penalty, it seems the battle for the top spots may be between Verstappen, Norris, and Piastri.
Pierre Gasly, who recently extended his contract with Alpine until 2028, will be looking to bounce back from his qualifying performance and make his way through the field during the race. Despite starting from the back row, Gasly has shown his potential and could potentially cause an upset.
The qualifying session saw less than a second separating all 20 cars, indicating a closely fought battle is expected during the race. As the grid sets for the upcoming Grand Prix, fans are eagerly waiting to see who will come out on top.
