Monza, Sep 6 (IANS) Max Verstappen delivered a champion’s performance at Monza as he snatched pole position for the Italian Grand Prix with a sensational late lap, edging out McLaren duo Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri in one of the tightest Qualifying sessions of the season.

After a disappointing outing at the Temple of Speed last year, Red Bull arrived with renewed competitiveness, and Verstappen underlined it by setting a 1m 18.792s in the dying moments of Q3 to secure P1 by just 0.077s from Norris. Piastri, only 0.190s adrift, completed an all-too-familiar McLaren challenge to Verstappen’s dominance.

Ferrari fans had hoped for a front-row start at their home race, but Charles Leclerc could do no better than fourth, while Lewis Hamilton lined up fifth. However, Hamilton will drop five places due to a pre-event grid penalty, leaving Ferrari in a better position to challenge on Sunday.

Mercedes adopted a different strategy compared to the rest of the field, starting Qualifying on medium tyres before switching to softs. The move paid off moderately, as George Russell and young home favourite Kimi Antonelli secured sixth and seventh on the grid.

One of the standout stories came from Gabriel Bortoleto, who continued his remarkable debut season by putting his Kick Sauber into eighth position. The Brazilian’s performance added to the team’s upward momentum under new team boss Jonathan Wheatley.

Behind him, Fernando Alonso managed ninth for Aston Martin, while Yuki Tsunoda grabbed tenth in the second Red Bull, giving the defending champions two cars in the top ten.

Just outside the final shootout, Ollie Bearman impressed once again, missing out on Q3 by a mere one hundredth of a second, securing 11th for Haas. His teammate Esteban Ocon struggled and could only manage 15th. Nico Hulkenberg, in the other Kick Sauber, slotted into 12th, though he was unable to match the pace of his high-flying teammate Bortoleto.

Williams, who had shown encouraging pace during practice, slipped back in Qualifying with Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon down in 13th and 14th, respectively.

Elsewhere, Zandvoort podium hero Isack Hadjar endured a tough session, making a mistake on his final Q1 run that left him a disappointing 16th. He will start behind Lance Stroll in the Aston Martin.

Franco Colapinto salvaged a small victory at Alpine by out-qualifying Pierre Gasly, who had announced a contract renewal earlier in the day. Liam Lawson brought up the rear after losing a lap to track limits in his Racing Bulls machine.

–IANS

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