FACTS AND STATS: Verstappen matches Vettel for Red Bull poles as he bags P1 in Monza

Max Verstappen claimed a scintillating pole position at Monza, beating the Mclaren pair fair and square on a scorching hot day in Italy. The Dutchman will start from P1 tomorrow with Lando Norris alongside, while championship leader Oscar Piastri lines up third. But who else excelled at the Temple of Speed? Here are all the best facts and stats from Qualifying…

• Verstappen set a new fastest lap in F1 history - 264.682km/h or 164.466mph.
• But no one has won here from pole in the last five Grands Prix.
• Verstappen bagged his 45th pole for Red Bull, which is a new team record surpassing Sebastian Vettel.
• It is Red Bull’s 108th pole position, passing Lotus for fifth on the all-time list.

• It is the first time Red Bull have been fastest at Monza in Q3 in the turbo-hybrid era.
• Norris out-qualified Piastri for the first time since Belgium as his Q3 lap also would have beaten the previous fastest lap in F1 history.
• Piastri qualified third but has never won from P3 in his F1 career.
• Charles Leclerc was fourth, and that is where he started last year when he won in Monza.
• Lewis Hamilton qualified fifth but starts P10 thanks to a five-place grid drop. He has been out-qualified 12-4 by his team mate this season.
• George Russell will start fifth for the second straight race thanks to Hamilton’s penalty.
• Kimi Antonelli will start sixth, his highest grid slot since he finished on the podium in Canda.

• Gabriel Bortoleto will start seventh, tying his and his team’s best start of the year in Hungary
• Fernando Alonso qualified P9 but starts eighth – his highest start at Monza since 2022.
• Yuki Tsunoda has his best-ever start at Monza with P9 on the grid.
• Ollie Bearman starts 11th, where he finished for four consecutive races earlier this season.
• Nico Hulkenberg is 12th, having been out-qualified by his team mate for the sixth straight race.
• Carlos Sainz tied Alex Albon at 8-8 in Qualifying this season with P13, while his team mate in P14 failed to reach Q3 here for the first time.

• Esteban Ocon qualified P15 at Monza for the second straight year.
• P1 to P10 were separated by just 0.293s in Q2. The record P1-P10 interval in a Q3 session is 0.543s from Hungary this season.
• Isack Hadjar was eliminated in Q1 for the first time in his career.
• Lance Stroll was 17th, for his 11th Q1 elimination this season, the most in F1.
• Franco Colapinto out-qualified Pierre Gasly for the third time this season.
• Gasly has suffered six Q1 eliminations this year.
• Liam Lawson was P20, meaning both Racing Bulls cars were out in Q1. They have both made Q3 at the last three consecutive races.