World championship leader Oscar Piastri has his work cut out at the Italian Grand Prix after being pipped by both his teammate Lando Norris and a rejuvenated Max Verstappen, who flew to pole in record-breaking fashion at Monza.
The Australian pacesetter was adamant that he was ‘still pretty confident for the race’ but he faces a formidable task after world champion Verstappen produced what F1 was hailing as the fastest ever lap in the sport’s annals on Saturday (Sunday AEST).
The Dutch Red Bull maestro put in one of his special performances, setting the record of 1 minute 18.792 seconds to snatch first on the grid by 0.077 from Norris, who had been quickest in the second and third practice sessions but struggled early in the qualifying.
Verstappen’s sensational effort came at an average speed of 264.682 kph – 164.466 mph. That was almost a tenth of a second quicker than the one-lap record set by Lewis Hamilton on his way to pole at Monza in 2020.
Norris, who trails Piastri by 34 points with nine races left, saved his best for last at the sun-baked ‘Temple of Speed’, putting his troubles behind him as he also brooke the old record in the closing moments (1:18.869) to pip Piastri (1:18.982) by 0.113 sec for a front-row spot.
Then both McLarens were edged by Verstappen’s familiar excellence as he celebrated his 45th F1 pole. ‘Yes guys, yes. That is unbelievable,’ the Dutchman yelled over the team radio.
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen (pictured) pipped the McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri to pole position
The Dutch Red Bull maestro put in one of his special performances, setting the record of 1 minute 18.792 seconds to snatch first on the grid by 0.077 from Lando Norris
But Piastri, who hasn’t finished outside the top two in any of his last five races, offered his usual unflustered response to having to start on the second row, describing his own lap as ‘tidy’.
‘Nothing major went wrong. I felt like I executed a pretty good session and built a little bit up to it at the start and found my feet,’ he shrugged.
‘I think it’s just been incredibly tight this weekend – Red Bull and Max Verstappen looked quick – to be honest a lot of teams looked quick.
‘It’s not been quite as comfortable for us so the result is not a big surprise but I still would have liked to be a little bit further up. I will try and make up some spots tomorrow because I would like a few more wins if I can!’
Norris was also very content after he had looked in danger of missing the cut in the second session of qualifying before moving up to fifth with the help of a bit of a tow from being in Piastri’s slipstream.
‘If you can help Lando, if you can tow Lando up to Turn 4, but just make sure we don’t impede – gap three,’ said Piastri’s race engineer Tom Stallard on the team radio.
McLaren team Principal Andrea Stella said Piastri’s act of sportsmanship was appreciated by the team.
‘For some reason, as soon as Tom asked Oscar, I knew Oscar was going to do it,’ Stella told motorsport.com.
Oscar Piastri’s sportsmanship for his teammate Lando Norris was praised
‘I think that’s the quality of the individuals behind the drivers that we have at McLaren. It’s the foundation of the way we go racing.
‘If it’s the last race in Abu Dhabi, will we see the same? I can’t say, but at the moment I’m just very proud that these things happen, that Lando and Oscar go racing like they do.
‘Having said that, the tow that Oscar gave Lando wasn’t a decisive factor for Lando to go to Q3, but in itself it’s a nice gesture of fairness and sportsmanship that we do like to see.’
Stella said things could change if the duo are still battling at the end of the season.
‘It’s within the rights of the driver to say I’m not going to do it this time,’ he said.
‘I would consider it potentially not the most elegant move, but sometimes racing doesn’t necessarily require elegance as long as you operate within the principles and the rules of the team.’
But Sunday’s (Monday AEST) race shapes to be a challenging one for dominant McLaren, who have won the last five races and have enjoyed seven one-two finishes this season.
The Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton finished fourth and fifth, respectively, in qualifying.
Seven-time world champ Hamilton, though, has a five-place grid penalty for failing to slow under double yellow flags at the Dutch Grand Prix, but still sounded more upbeat than of late as he said he was pleased with their progress over the weekend.
George Russell will start fifth for Mercedes, and could also be in the mix, with his Italian rookie teammate Kimi Antonelli alongside.
