Max Verstappen snatched pole position for the Italian Grand Prix from Lando Norris with the fastest lap in Formula 1 history

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen snatched pole position for the Italian Grand Prix from Lando Norris with the fastest lap in Formula 1 history.

The Dutchman’s time of one minute 18.792 seconds beat the lap set by Lewis Hamilton at Monza in 2020 for Mercedes by 0.095secs – at an average speed of 164.484mph.

Norris had just leapt to the top of the times after a difficult first run left him seventh, but Verstappen pipped him by 0.077 seconds for his first pole since the British Grand Prix in July.

McLaren’s Oscar Piastri, leading Norris by 34 points in their championship battle, was third fastest, ahead of the Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton.

But the seven-time champion has a five-place penalty and will start the grand prix at Monza 10th.

Polesitter Max Verstappen has two wins to his name this season in Japan and Imola but can the Dutchman claim a third victory at Monza? He’s not in the championship fight this year, so the pressure is off the four-time world champion.

Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, meanwhile, have it all to play for. Australian Piastri leads his McLaren team-mate Norris by 34 points in the drivers’ championship following the Briton’s retirement last week in Zandvoort, so how will the team approach this race with Norris starting one place higher than Piastri?

Go and enjoy the rest of this lovely Saturday afternoon and then come back on Sunday and join us for race build-up from 13:00 BST.

Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton will start down in 10th after his five-place grid penalty from last weekend. He spoke to Sky Sports: “I’m really really happy with the progress we’ve made, particularly on my side of the garage, it’s definitely been a lot more solid.

“We’ve been right there and within a tenth so we’ve just got to keep working on it.

“It’s been an amazing weekend here as a Ferrari driver, I can’t even find the words for it to be honest. The fans are really beautiful and the energy since Wednesday, they’ve turned up in the thousands.

“When I leave the garage and you get down to Turn One you see them on the left and the right and you see red.

“I don’t know what’s possible tomorrow but I will work my way through.”