Verstappen Wins Italian Grand Prix Pole Position

It takes something extraordinary to outshine McLaren this year, and that’s exactly what Max Verstappen delivered on Saturday (September 6, 2025).

He amazed title rivals Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri by grabbing pole position for the Italian Grand Prix with the quickest lap ever recorded at Monza.

Verstappen broke the lap record during the last segment of qualifying for the race on Sunday (September 7, 2025).

Norris fell short by .077 seconds compared to the Red Bull driver, and Piastri was 0.190 seconds slower.

The four time world champion Verstappen zipped around the 3.54 miles (5.79 km) of the so-called Temple of Speed in a time of 1 minute, 18.792 seconds, achieving an average speed of 164.466 mph (264.682 kph).

This was nearly a tenth of a second faster than the one lap record set by Lewis Hamilton when he secured pole position at Monza in 2020. Formula 1 even hailed it as the fastest lap in F1 history based on average speed.

Charles Leclerc who took the win at Monza last year and in 2019 – qualified fourth for Ferrari at the Italian Scuderia’s home race.

He just ahead of his teammate Hamilton, who will kick off Sunday’s (September 7, 2025) race from 10th place due to a five place grid penalty.

Verstappen has secured pole position 44 times, but only once at the Italian Grand Prix, where he has celebrated victory twice.

“It was close, we were still missing a little bit, and we made some last-minute adjustments that I believe helped me push a bit harder, which is exactly what you need in qualifying”, Verstappen shared. “For us, this is a fantastic moment.

Verstappen has secured his 45th pole position and his fifth this season, although he’s only managed to win once this year from the front of the grid.

On Sunday (September 7, 2025), he’ll be sharing the front row with Norris, who is 34 points behind Piastri in the championship with nine races still to go this season.

Norris nearly missed out on Q2 after an early slip up forced him to switch tires, and he relied on a tow from Piastri to escape trouble and finish in fifth place.

Italian teen Kimi Antonelli clocked in at seventh fastest, just trailing his Mercedes teammate George Russell as he made a strong comeback in front of his home fans.

As the only Italian on the grid, Antonelli had a rough start last year, crashing at Monza just 10 minutes into his first F1 practice session.

The 19 year old also ended Leclerc’s race at the Dutch Grand Prix last weekend.

Thanks to Hamilton’s penalty, Russell and Antonelli will both gain a position on the grid, along with Gabriel Bortoleto, Fernando Alonso, and Yuki Tsunoda, who complete the top 10.

“Given the penalty and how close everyone is, overtaking them is going to be a challenge”, Hamilton said when discussing his chances at his first Italian Grand Prix in Ferrari red.

“I need to focus on a strong start, a solid first lap, and a smart strategy. We’ll take some time now to figure out how we can leapfrog the guys in front of me if we can”.

French rookie Isack Hadjar would have had to start Sunday’s (September 7, 2025) race from the pit lane anyway, due to an engine change.

DISCLAIMER: This article is derived from information available in the public domain.