Lando Norris claimed back-to-back pole positions as McLaren dominated qualifying in Monza.
The battle for the Formula 1 world championship is set to get even more interesting as Red Bull’s Max Verstappen set the seventh-fastest lap.
Oscar Piastri completed a front-row lockout for the papaya team, with Mercedes’ George Russell taking third.
Ferrari pair Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz were fourth and fifth fastest on the team’s home track.
Lewis Hamilton was sixth, just 0.18 seconds off pole.
Verstappen and Perez then lined up, with Williams’ Alex Albon and Haas’ Nico Hulkenberg making up the top 10.
Here’s your starting grid for the 2024 Italian Grand Prix! 🇮🇹
Norris takes pole, with championship leader Max Verstappen down in 7th 👀#F1 #ItalianGP pic.twitter.com/vCLRvv3OFK
— Formula 1 (@F1) August 31, 2024
Norris was not expecting to record the fastest lap, but was delighted that McLaren were able to take the first two spots.
He said: “To have a first and second when the field is as tight as it has been all weekend is a little bit of a surprise, but a nice one.
“My lap, it hurts me to say it, was not a great lap. My first one was. But still good enough for pole and still very happy.
“There are a lot of quick drivers behind in quick cars, so I am not expecting an easy race. Plenty of question marks but a lot of excitement, I’m sure.”
Russell was also pleased with his result. He added: “A little bit better than I expected. It was a really tough session. Not too far behind the McLarens, they are so fast at the moment, I am super-happy with third.
“I think it’s going to be a tight battle, everyone is so close out there, so exciting for F1, everyone’s been waiting for this.
“A very up and down weekend.
That’s career pole no. 5⃣ for @LandoNorris! 👏
Get the lowdown from a thrilling qualifying in Monza 📝⤵️https://t.co/LwFuzwzD2n
— Formula 1 (@F1) August 31, 2024
“Missed a lot of yesterday, which put me on the back foot, Q1 and Q2 were messy, didn’t feel good in the car.
“But managed to get it in the sweet spot in Q3. So pretty pleased with the result and it’s kind of exciting to see how close it was.”
Verstappen did not have the same attitude towards his qualifying.
He said: “Q3 was very bad on both of my tyre sets. I just picked up a lot of understeer so I couldn’t attack any corners any more.
“I had to back it out a lot mid-corner and you lose a lot of lap time like that.
“Somehow in Q2 it wasn’t that bad. I did a 1:19.6 at that point and we were almost the quickest.
“We know our limitations and problems but at that point I think we had it fairly under control.
“But I went into Q3 and the balance was completely out, and I don’t really understand how that happened.”
