Verstappen breaks F1’s all-time lap speed record to grab Italian GP pole position

Max Verstappen set the fastest lap ever seen in Formula 1 as he claimed pole position for the Italian Grand Prix.

The Red Bull driver lapped Monza in 1’18.792, an average speed of 264.423kph, breaking the record set by Lewis Hamilton at the same track five years ago.

Verstappen beat the McLaren pair to pole position while Charles Leclerc will start from fourth place, the same place from which he won last year’s race.

Q1

While every other team tried to get through Q1 using the soft tyres, Mercedes bucked the trend. Andrea Kimi Antonelli and George Russell joined the track on the medium compound.

Russell whittled his lap time down to a 1’19.414 which put him at the top of the times. While the other drivers emerged from the pits for their final flying laps, he stayed put, and impressively remained on top. Antonelli abandoned his effort to stick to the mediums, opting for a set of softs, and making it through in 11th place. He was only a third of a second slower than his pace-setting team mate, however, as the session proved extraordinarily close.

Several drivers asked too much of the exit kerb at the second Lesmo, including Max Verstappen, who told his team to check his floor afterwards. He eventually improved to finish the session in second place.

Carlos Sainz Jnr also ran too wide there and his first lap time was deleted as a result. Team mate Alexander Albon did likewise at the first corner, meaning both drivers had to run again. Sainz briefly jumped to third, before slipping back to fifth, while Albon scraped through in 15th. However Sainz is under investigation for an infringement in the pit lane.

Esteban Ocon was also in the drop zone before the final runs began and was pessimistic about his chances of getting through when his team sent him out at the head of the queue, unable to pick up a slipstream. He made it through, however, in 14th place.

Both Alpines failed to make the cut, along with the Racing Bulls pair, Isack Hadjar joining those who went wide at Lesmo 2. Lance Stroll also dropped out, the gap of less than three tenths of a second between him and his team mate translating into 11 positions in an incredibly close session.

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Q1 result

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Q2

Norris survived a major scare in Q2 as he came within one lap of being eliminated. His troubles began when he snatched a brake at the Rettifilo and cut the chicane, forcing him to abandon his first run.

That left him in the drop zone after the first runs along with Alonso, Ocon, Albon and Nico Hulkenberg. McLaren chose to fuel him for two laps at the end of the session, a decision which was vindicated when he needed his final lap to get through. His final effort got him up to fifth at the expense of Bearman.

One of the biggest surprises of the session was the Williams’ drivers failure to reach the final 10. The pair looked quick throughout practice on Friday and Sainz put up a strong time in Q1 but both missed the cut with their final runs.

They went out with the two Haas drivers and Hulkenberg, who lost out to team mate Bortoleto once again.

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Q2 result

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Q3

Leclerc gave the Ferrari fans some joy by briefly setting the fastest time at the start of Q3. But Verstappen’s first run put him back on top of the times with a lap of 1’18.923.

Norris led the field around at the start of the session and without the benefit of a slipstream he could only manage a 1’19.433. A string of other drivers beat his time, including both Ferraris and Bortoleto in the Sauber, leaving him down in seventh as the final runs began.

The Ferrari drivers followed Tsunoda out of the pits as the final runs began. However Leclerc failed to improve his time and lost his grip on the front row of the grid. He ended up fourth, one place ahead of his team mate, whose grid penalty means he will start 10th tomorrow.

Piastri shaved a few hundredths off his lap time but Norris appeared to find all the improvement he needed, jumping past his team mate and Verstappen to move to the top of the times. His 1’18.869 also broke the record for the fastest lap ever seen in F1.

But the new record only stood for a few seconds. Verstappen shot across the line moments later with a 1’18.792, reclaiming pole position and setting a new benchmark for F1’s highest average lap speed.

Russell was surprised to receive a set of soft tyres for his final run, having apparently requested a set of mediums, and ended up sixth ahead of his team mate. Alonso and Bortoleto began their final laps close together, not far behind Verstappen, but ended up eighth and ninth, the Sauber driver ahead of his manager. Tsunoda completed the top 10.

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Q3 result

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