Lando Norris set fire to the F1 World Cup with pole position at Monza and a sunk Verstappen

what a show This Saturday at the Italian GP is one of the best classifications in memory, with up to 4 teams fighting at the top for pole, with 5 clear opponents. The mercedeswith Hamilton in a state of grace until ‘qualifying’, McLaren, with Lando Norris as captain general and Piastre, Verstappen and both Ferrariincluding Leclerc and Sainz new to his fans. Any of them could come home with the first position on the grid this Sunday.

To do this, it is necessary to fight a track where it is very easy to fail, a new asphalt that is more slippery than normal, and find the perfect lap. And finally, The best car on the grid hits the jackpot with a double front-row.

Lando Norris takes pole in the F1 Italian GP ahead of his teammate Piastri (2nd in 0″109), Russell (3rd at 0.113) Leclerc (4th at 0.134) and Carlos Sainz, who will start 5th after being surpassed by only 6 thousandths of his teammate Charles (in 0″140), with Lewis Hamilton in sixth position at 0″695. In its part, Max Verstappen can only be 7th, which makes things very complicated, a world away from pole, at 0.735.

The Englishman from McLaren will be fighting to score his second straight victory and confirm he can put pressure on Max Verstappen in the title fight. The task was not easy for Lando because of the extreme equality that existed. Any mistake can sink him and lose many positions. But he nailed it to make the title fight even more red hot.

The battle for the pole is exciting. He was accompanied, as usual, by Max Verstappen who, once he put all his effort into his machine, was there, as expected.

Hamilton and Max woke up in Q2 and showed their claws against Norris, by a matter of thousandths. And in Q3, the fight is intense. And in Q3, the McLarens reared their heads decisively. Lando took provisional pole after the first attempt with a lead of just 35 thousandths over Piastri, however leaving Russell a tenth behind and Hamilton two behind, with the Ferraris of Leclerc and Sainz 3 tenths away and Verstappen, away, in 8th place.

The setting seems perfect for Lando. But there is still one last attempt. The definitive. The tension is intense. 7 pilots played it with one card. It is a matter of details. But Norris didn’t flinch.

Max could only improve one place to 7th by overtaking Pérez who put a tire on the gravel, also showing Monza that his Red Bull was not what it was. Lando Norris confirmed his pole position against Piastri and the Ferraris were helpless. They were even surprised by a great lap from George Russell who took third place from Charles by just a thousand. Details.

There is a lot of uncertainty for the career

But the story is not over at Monza. In fact, it has only just begun. In racing, the rhythms also seem very even and anything can happen. First, the exit. The many meters that separate the grid from the first corner and the fact that the asphalt is widened at the first turn make overtaking at that point more possible. In that sense, Norris would not have a slipstream and was already aware of the McLarens bad start. Russell could be a big beneficiary early on.

In addition, here is added the possibility of a safety car and a track with new asphalt that allows many cars to slide, generating ‘graining’ on the wheels. In Monza you have to stop, and for this, a lot can suffer to achieve it, so it is a race of pure tire management, an important aspect. There and in the attacks on the pits can be the race. No one can deny it, not even Carlos Sainz, who although starting 5th will have a more difficult time and will need a good start to aim for the podium and victory.

Alonso, 11th, faces a formidable challenge

Fernando Alonso will start 11th in the Italian F1 GPaware that his Aston Martin was suffering more at race pace. The Aston Martin did not adapt well to this circuit and the Asturian could not go faster. He took all the potential from a car in which his companion Lance Stroll was eliminated in Q1 with 17th position. The Spaniard had to try to take advantage of the mistakes of his rivals to gain positions, and he achieved an excellent 11th place and was even on the verge of achieving the miracle of entering Q3, among the top 10, because he only finished 10 thousandths. behind the cut-off time marked by Nico Hülkenberg.

Points are very difficult because the Aston Martin’s racing speed is its weakness. More on a track with a lot of graining and where if they want to stop (optimal strategy), everyone has to manage the tires very well. At this track, Williams, Haas, RB and Alpine are all great rivals. Fernando has to defend himself with what he can and however he can.

Big scare for Colapinto (18th)

Franco Colapinto He had a good Williams in which Albon sneaked into Q3, but in the first classification of his life, after a brilliant FP3, he could not achieve a good result. The Argentine will face his debut race as an official Williams driver for the last 9 Grands Prix of the year from 18th starting position. All this, because of a logical error for a ‘rookie’.

On his decisive Q1 lap, he widened Lesmo 2, putting two tires on the gravel. He avoided the accident with great hands, but lost all the time he needed to move into Q2. He will need to conquer the first race to continue learning, avoiding mistakes and trying to make up the positions he can with the very fast Williams on the straights.