🔥 Verstappen Shines at the Temple of Speed
On a blazing hot afternoon in
Monza,
Max Verstappen delivered a record-breaking qualifying lap to secure pole position for the Italian Grand Prix. The Dutchman not only grabbed
P1 but also
equaled Sebastian Vettel’s tally of 45 poles with Red Bull, setting a new team record in the process.
He will line up ahead of
Lando Norris in second, while championship leader
Oscar Piastri takes P3. But beyond Verstappen’s dominance, qualifying at Monza brought plenty of fascinating stats and records.
📊 Key Records and Stats from Monza Qualifying
- ⚡ Verstappen clocked the fastest lap in Formula 1 history – averaging 264.682 km/h (164.466 mph).
- 🚫 Interestingly, no driver has won from pole in the last five Italian Grands Prix.
- 🏆 Red Bull celebrated their 108th pole in F1, overtaking Lotus for fifth place on the all-time list.
- ⏱️ It was also the first time Red Bull topped Q3 at Monza in the hybrid-turbo era.
- 🔄 Norris out-qualified Piastri for the first time since Belgium, with a lap that would have broken the old F1 speed record too.
- 📌 Piastri, starting third, has never won from P3 in his F1 career.
🏎️ How the Grid Shapes Up
- 🇲🇨 Charles Leclerc will start P4 – the same slot he started from last year when he won at Monza.
- 🇬🇧 Lewis Hamilton qualified fifth but will start P10 due to a penalty. He has now been out-qualified 12-4 by teammate George Russell this season.
- 🇬🇧 Russell inherits P5, marking his second consecutive top-five start.
- 🇮🇹 Rising star Kimi Antonelli starts sixth, his best grid slot since his Canadian podium.
- 🇧🇷 Gabriel Bortoleto lines up seventh, equaling his best start of 2025 (Hungary).
- 🇪🇸 Fernando Alonso begins eighth, his best Monza start since 2022.
- 🇯🇵 Yuki Tsunoda scored his best-ever Monza start with P9.
- 🇬🇧 Ollie Bearman takes P11, continuing his streak of consistency this season.
- 🇩🇪 Nico Hulkenberg qualified 12th, marking his sixth straight defeat to his teammate in qualifying.
- 🇪🇸 Carlos Sainz finished 13th, drawing 8-8 with Alex Albon in their season-long qualifying duel.
- 🇹🇭 Albon himself struggled, with Williams again battling tyre issues, ending up 14th.
- 🇫🇷 Esteban Ocon starts 15th at Monza for the second year running.
📉 Surprises and Shock Exits
- ⏳ In Q2, P1 to P10 were split by just 0.293s, showing how insanely tight the field was.
- 🇫🇷 Isack Hadjar suffered his first-ever Q1 elimination.
- 🇨🇦 Lance Stroll endured his 11th Q1 exit of 2025, the most of any driver.
- 🇦🇷 Franco Colapinto out-qualified Pierre Gasly for the third time this season, while Gasly suffered his sixth Q1 elimination.
- 🇳🇿 Liam Lawson finished P20, with both Racing Bulls knocked out in Q1 after three straight races of double Q3 appearances.
⚡ Final Word
Max Verstappen’s pole at Monza was not just about speed – it was about history. By matching Vettel’s Red Bull record and setting the fastest lap in Formula 1 history, Verstappen has once again underlined his dominance in the sport.
Tomorrow’s race will answer the big question:
Can Verstappen finally convert pole into victory at Monza, or will history repeat itself with another non-pole winner at the Temple of Speed?
