@Max33Verstappen pips @LandoNorris to #ItalianGP pole by 0.077s. #F1
Max Verstappen, #1, Oracle Red Bull Racing, Honda-RBPT, RB21, celebrates in Parc Ferme after taking his 45th-career pole position, Qualifying, Formula 1 Pirelli Gran Premio D'Italia 2025, Autodromo Nazionale Monza, Monza, Italy. Image credit to Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images. Verstappen Italian GP Pole, 2025 Italian GP Qualifying, Italian GP Qualifying Results, F1 Italian GP Qualifying, Formula 1 Monza Qualifying.
Verstappen Italian GP Pole – Reigning world champion Max Verstappen pipped the two McLaren’s of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri to take pole position in a thrilling qualifying session at the Italian GP.
This was Verstappen’s 45th-career pole position and the first since the 2025 British Grand Prix.
In Q3, the initial flyers saw Norris the first to register the benchmark of a 1:19.433 as Antonelli slotted into second with a 1:19.717 whilst Piastri with a purple sector three shoots to the top on a 1:19.056.
Leclerc then pipped Piastri for provisional pole with three personal bests whilst Hamilton ended up in fourth with his 1:19.124 effort.
Verstappen then ousted Leclerc by 0.084 seconds for provisional pole with a 1:18.923 flying lap.
The final hot-laps saw Leclerc unable to improve on his second flyer as Hamilton also remained in fourth.
Piastri with two purples took provisional pole with his 1:18.982 effort then was beaten by team-mate Norris’s 1:18.969 for the Briton to hold P1 briefly.
Verstappen was the last runner and snagged the pole position off Norris by breaking the lap record of the Autodromo Nazionale Monza with his a 1:18.792 flyer to end up a slim 0.077 seconds over the Norris.
Both Piastri and Leclerc share the second row of the grid in third and fourth respectively as Hamilton qualified fifth, but the seven-time world champion will be demoted to tenth on the grid after receiving a five-grid-placed-penalty for speeding under double waved yellows at the Dutch Grand Prix.
The Mercedes duo of Russell and Antonelli will start fifth and sixth on the grid as a result of the aforementioned Hamilton’s penalty whilst Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto and Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso will start seventh and eighth.
The other Red Bull RB21 entry of Yuki Tsunoda qualified the slowest of the Q3 runners in tenth but will start tomorrow’s Italian GP ninth after Hamilton’s penalty.
In the middle segment, which was topped by Verstappen, a late improvement from Norris saw MoneyGram Haas F1 Team’s Oliver Bearman miss out on a Q3 appearance by a slim 0.013 meaning the Briton will start 11th and ahead of Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg who took 12th.
Atlassian Williams Racing duo Alexander Albon and Carlos Sainz qualified in 13th and 14th respectively whilst the other Haas VF-25 entry of Esteban Ocon was the slowest of the Q2 runners in 15th.
In the opening qualifying stage, which was topped by Russell, a late improvement from Albon sent RB’s Isack Hadjar into the drop zone meaning the Frenchman will start 16th on the grid.
Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll ended up 17th and in-front of Alpine duo Franco Colapinto and Pierre Gasly who were 18th and 19th respectively whilst the other VCARB02 entry of Liam Lawson brought up the rear.
You can see the full Formula 1 Pirelli Gran Premio D’Italia 2025 Qualifying Results Classification at the link: FORMULA 1 PIRELLI GRAN PREMIO D’ITALIA 2025 – QUALIFYING
2025 Italian GP Qualifying – The Top Three
2025 Italian GP Pole Position – Max Verstappen, #1, Oracle Red Bull Racing, Honda-RBPT, RB21 – 1:18.792:
“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.”
2nd Place – Lando Norris, #4, McLaren Formula 1 Team-Mercedes, MCL39 – 1:18.869:
“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.”
3rd Place – Oscar Piastri, #81, McLaren Formula 1 Team-Mercedes, MCL39 – 1:18.982:
“Nothing major, turn 1 was a bit average but the rest of the lap was tidy. It has just been incredibly tight this weekend; Max and Red Bull have been quick all weekend. The result is not a big surprise, but I would like to be a little bit further up.”
