Lando Norris gave himself a great chance to further cut Max Verstappen's Formula One championship lead by taking pole position for the Italian Grand Prix on Saturday.
Trailing by 70 points in the drivers' standings, Norris clocked one minute and 19.327 seconds in a one-two with teammate Oscar Piastri, as Red Bull's Verstappen finished nearly seven-tenths of a second behind in seventh.
Briton Norris claimed his fourth pole of the season, and second in succession, in a car which looks capable of a similar result as at last weekend's Dutch GP, when he romped home to victory nearly 23 seconds ahead of the three-time champion Verstappen.
A dominant display from Norris and Piastri is great news for McLaren who are only 30 points behind Red Bull in the constructors' championship.
"I think for us to come away with a 1-2, to come away with another pole, was probably not quite what we were expecting. But in a good way, of course," Norris told reporters.
Verstappen's troubles continued, the Dutchman complaining on the team radio about steering and lack of grip on the newly laid tarmac at the Temple of Speed.
The 26-year-old has failed to win any of the last five GPs -- only finishing on the podium in two -- after claiming the honours at seven of the first 10.
Hear from @LandoNorris after taking Pole. 💪#ItalianGP 🇮![CDATA[]]>🇹 pic.twitter.com/9HSYrgWZll
— McLaren (@McLarenF1) August 31, 2024
However Norris expects Verstappen to fight back and give the McLaren cars a run for their money.
"For sure it's a good opportunity (to cut Verstappen's leader). I mean I expect him to come through and probably be behind us quite quickly... I expect them to probably be a bit more hopeful tomorrow," said Norris of Verstappen.
"He still seemed quick, like in Q2 he is right there and ended up quicker than me even on a used tyre."
'On the fly'
George Russell will sit on the second row for Mercedes alongside Ferrari driver and home hope Charles Leclerc while Lewis Hamilton was one place and 0.509sec ahead of Verstappen in the second Mercedes.
"I don't really know what to expect because I've just not really done the laps to be honest, so I'll just have to trust my instincts and go from there really and adapt on the fly," said Russell.
"I'm really, really pleased to be lining up P3 after the day we've had and the car definitely seems to have potential."
Hamilton, who was fastest in the day's practice session, is racing for the last time at Monza as a Mercedes driver and Ferrari fans will be keen to see how the 39-year-old will perform on Sunday ahead of his move to the Scuderia at the end of the year.
Mercedes announced on Saturday morning that Hamilton would be replaced by teenage rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who has had an eventful weekend after crashing and damaging Russell's car in Friday's first practice.
The Italian, who celebrated his 18th birthday last weekend, nearly crashed out of his Formula Two sprint race almost straight after the start, but managed to get back on the track and finish in 18th.
However Mercedes did not say for how long Antonelli's contract would run and team chief Toto Wolff didn't close the door on snatching Verstappen for 2026 when asked if he discarded the idea.
"If flirting outside happens, then they will know it before me. These guys will know it at the same time," Wolff told reporters.
Another rookie Franco Colapinto will have a tough debut F1 race after replacing struggling Logan Sargeant who was axed by Williams after a disastrous weekend at Zandvoort.
The 21-year-old is the first Argentine driver to compete in F1 for over two decades but will start way back in 18th after being eliminated in Q1.
AFP