F1 qualifying results: Max Verstappen thunders to pole at the Italian Grand Prix

Lando Norris was dominant in the early portion of the previous week at the Dutch Grand Prix, topping the timing sheets in all three practice sessions ahead of qualifying. But when the dust settled at the end of Q3 in Zandvoort, Norris had been nipped for pole position by teammate Oscar Piastri.

With Norris fastest again in both FP2 and FP3 at this weekend’s Italian Grand Prix, would he suffer the same fate?

Indeed he did, as Max Verstappen thundered to pole position by just 0.077 seconds in a battle throughout the qualifying hour.

Norris qualified second, with Piastri in third. The Ferrari pair of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton qualified fourth and fifth, but with Hamilton facing a five-place grid penalty he’ll drop a bit further down the order before the start of the Italian Grand Prix.

Q2 delivered some drama for Norris and McLaren. The driver slid off the racing line on his first push lap and was called into the pits to reset and refuel. His first push lap in the session was only good enough for seventh, and as the times started to tumble, Norris was pushed down into the elimination zone.

But he had enough time and fuel to remain on the track and start a final push lap just before the clock expired. The championship contender delivered the lap he needed at the death, jumping up to P5 and moving on to Q3.

At the back of the grid, it was a tough session for both Alpine and Visa Cash App Racing Bulls. Both Franco Colapinto and teammate Pierre Gasly -- who announced a contract extension with Alpine earlier in the day -- were eliminated in Q1, with Colapinto down in P18 and Gasly in P19.

As for the VCARB drivers, Liam Lawson was down in P20 after having a lap time deleted for sliding off the track and into the gravel at Turn 6. Isack Hadjar, who delivered a dramatic podium finish in last weekend’s Dutch Grand Prix, was knocked out in Q1 down in P16.

Here are the provisional qualifying results from qualifying at the Italian Grand Prix. Remember, despite qualifying fifth Hamilton will drop to tenth due to a five-place penalty he was given at the Dutch Grand Prix: