Topping a chaotic Qualifying session around Monza, Max Verstappen put his RB-21 on pole for the F1 Italian GP. Opting for strategic outings throughout the session, the Dutchman managed to avoid any major high-traffic areas. With a 1:18.792 lap time, the Red Bull driver will start P1, with both McLarens behind.
Taking advantage of the momentum from his podium at the Dutch GP, Verstappen put himself in contention for another one. In terms of the Drivers’ Championship, the Dutchman sits in P3 with a total of 205 points. While the battle up front for the title is far away, George Russell will be Verstappen’s biggest threat for the rest of the season.
First thoughts in Parc Fermé
Lowering the record for the fastest lap time around Monza, Max Verstappen’s F1 Italian GP Qualifying went well. Admitting that the RB21 seems to work better this weekend, the Dutchman was all smiles after that pole-winning lap.
“I try,” was his response during the Parc Fermé interview, when asked about a certain ‘Max Verstappen magic’. “But I think around here, with the low downforce, it’s always very difficult to nail the lap. On the braking, it’s easy to make mistakes also. But Q3 felt good. Happy with the laps.”
The 27-year-old was ecstatic after this good result proved Red Bull might battle for a win on Sunday: “And of course, to be on pole here for us is fantastic. The car has been working a lot better the whole weekend. And, yeah, to be able to fight for pole, I’m very happy with that.”
RB21’s chances for the F1 Italian GP
Recognising that pole was not exactly in the cards, Verstappen explained how some last-minute setup changes helped. Closing the gap with McLaren, this result means a lot for the Red Bull Racing garage.
“It was tight. I mean, we were still lacking a tiny amount. We made some final changes, which I think allowed me to push a bit more. And that’s exactly what you need in qualifying. So yeah, for us, it’s a great moment.”
Nevertheless, even with a boost of confidence added to his hopes, the Dutchman is unsure of how the RB21 will behave during the race. Throughout 2025, his car let him down a couple of times, unable to match the MCL39’s pace.
“Yeah. Let’s see. I mean, historically, this season, the race has always been a little bit more complicated for us. But we’re going to give it everything we have. I think that’s the only thing that we can do. And then we’ll see what happens tomorrow.”
Defying expectations around Monza
The F1 Italian GP is a tricky round on the calendar, yet Verstappen managed to find the right balance. During the post-qualifying press conference, the Red Bull driver decided to highlight the difficulties of racing at the Temple of Speed.
“It was good. It’s always tough around here. Low downforce, easy to make mistakes on the braking or on entries because you have to commit. But with low downforce, that’s not always easy. Also, you know, the closing speeds in certain corners to hit the apex perfectly.”
However challenging, Verstappen had to admit that the final lap of his Q3 was favourable for Red Bull. The current world champion was just happy all around, even more so after his tough season last year.
“But I think that final lap was pretty decent. To get pole here for us is big. It’s not always been a good track for us, especially last year was quite a bit of a disaster. So, yeah, this year much better and very happy to be first.”
While the Dutch driver could not remember all his other times around Monza, his response when asked if that was his best lap was modest: “I don’t know. I mean, it was good. I don’t even remember all my quali laps here. Is that a bad thing?”
Unexpected performance
After Friday’s Free Practice sessions, the 27-year-old was not feeling his setup. Therefore, even with the changes done before the F1 Italian GP Qualifying, Verstappen did not expect such a massive improvement.
“I think we had a good start to the weekend, so that was nice. That has been different at times. It still felt like we were lacking something, and then in FP3, it was a little bit better. Still not where I wanted it to be, so then some final tweaks. And that then brought it a bit closer to what I liked.”
Yet, the Dutchman remains pessimistic about the potential of the RB21 around Monza. Red Bull Racing does not have the best track record on low-downforce circuits. Nevertheless, the changes helped Verstappen feel more comfortable in the car.
“I don’t think the car is ever going to be perfect around here, just because of the low downforce feeling, anyway. But at least it allowed me to attack corners, have the rotation that I needed at times. And that’s what you want.”
The pace for a great flying lap
Staying quite humble despite setting a new record around Monza, the Red Bull driver confessed he did not expect his Q3 time to drop so much. While his Q2 was great on its own, Verstappen recognised the importance of other factors in Qualifying that determined his final time for the F1 Italian GP.
“It’s difficult to say because I didn’t really feel like the improvements were massive between Q1 and Q2. Then you commit a bit more in Q3, but it has a lot of factors that come into play as well with if you have a bit of tow or not. Sometimes you just get lucky as well. This is difficult to say, but at least it was good enough.”
In terms of race pace for Sunday, the Dutchman went on to hope for the best. With the RB21’s unreliability, plus all the other chaos that comes with a Grand Prix, Verstappen continues to celebrate this achievement:
“Difficult to say. I think this season so far, the race pace has not always been great. So I hope that I can do something tomorrow, but I think anyway it’s been a great day for us. We’ve been competitive today. We’ll try to do the best we can tomorrow, but of course to stay here will be tough. But we’ll see what we can do.”
This generation of cars and high speeds
With all the switches coming as the regulations are changing in 2026, it is unclear if the new cars will be able to maintain the same speed. In response to a question that put the two under comparison, Verstappen was adamant to point out the differences:
“They are pretty decent in the high speed. They’re quite quick in a straight line. Of course, the low speed, that’s where we lose out compared to the previous generation. And yeah, on some tracks you can do these lap records now.”
Additionally, this F1 Italian GP Qualifying saw Max Verstappen put out the best flying lap around Monza. The driver admitted that the thought did not cross his mind during the session.
“Honestly, I didn’t even think about that when I crossed the line, but it’s nice. It didn’t feel too bad. The cars have been fun.”
Highlighting the new track updates since last year, the Dutchman made a nice throwback to showcase his earlier points.
“Also, the new tarmac helps around here, kerbing – like the kerbs opened up a little bit. I think the 2020 Mercedes is still quicker if you would put it on the track now, but it’s been good. At some tracks it’s more fun than others.”
Red Bull Racing’s progress
Before summer break, the Red Bull Racing drivers spoke of efforts to regain some lost momentum. With last weekend’s P2 for Verstappen, it looks like whatever they changed worked. Nonetheless, big improvements take time. According to the Dutchman, he faced issues around Zandvoort as their Friday and Saturday pace did not come alive on Sunday.
“I think we’re making improvements on the car, but also, setup-wise we found a nicer direction. We still need to understand more why in the race sometimes it doesn’t really translate. I had quite a decent feeling in Zandvoort, but then it was really not good in the race.
“So I don’t sit here and think that tomorrow is going to be fantastic in terms of how competitive we’re going to be against McLaren,” confessed Verstappen, over his chances of turning the Qualifying result into a win at the F1 Italian GP. “The whole season has shown that yes, sometimes you can be in front in qualifying, but in the race it’s very tough to stay ahead. Sometimes on tracks, maybe where it’s difficult to pass. Here you can race.”
Despite the work in progress at Red Bull, their world champion has a good outlook on the direction his team is going.
“I expect it to be a tough battle, but we are making steps forward. And that’s exactly what we want to do. We want to learn a bit more that hopefully also helps us next year.”
The cockpit view of Qualifying
Revisiting the topic of his setup changes that earned his pole in Qualifying, Verstappen decided to keep the exact switches a secret. However, he explained the overall decisions that went into finding that last bit of balance.
“I’m not going to say what I did on the car. But it gave me a better feeling, a bit better balance. Let’s say it like that. Most people do that – throughout the whole weekend, you always fine-tune bits. It’s not like we threw the car around; it’s like tickling things.”
In his Q3 flying laps, the biggest improvement of his overall time came as a half-tenth drop in the opening sector. The Red Bull driver went over both of his laps, pointing out the lack of mistakes. Moreover, he attributed his turnaround to Monza and its high-speed layout.
“Honestly, in Q3, my first lap was already pretty decent. There was no big mistake. My improvements were like three or four hundredths here and there.
“That’s also Monza for you. If you don’t make any big mistakes, there’s not that much lap time left. It’s like maybe hitting an apex a bit better or a kerb. Sometimes you gain two, three hundredths on the straight – you got lucky. That happens as well. That’s basically what happened in my quali lap.”
