Max Verstappen: Pole position — a fantastic result!

      Max Verstappen won the Italian Grand Prix qualifying with a new lap record at Monza – 1:18.792. To set that time, Max completed the lap at an average speed of 264.68 km/h.

      The Red Bull Racing driver said that the team adjusted his car’s setup before the start of the session. Yuki Tsunoda made it to the final, where he set the tenth time, but due to Lewis Hamilton’s penalty he will start ninth.

      Max Verstappen (1st): “On this low-downforce track it’s very hard to put together a perfect lap because there’s a chance to make a mistake under braking.

      The qualifying final went well – I’m quite happy with my laps, and pole is a fantastic result! The car has been quick throughout the weekend, and I’m very pleased I was able to fight for pole.

      Before qualifying the car lacked pace, but we made some setup changes that allowed me to attack more. That was great.

      This season the trend has been that races are harder for us than qualifying, but the team and I will give it our all. That’s all we can do, so we’ll see.”

      Yuki Tsunoda (10th): “Making it into the qualifying final is exactly the result I wanted to achieve. I’m pleased with the progress we’re making from race to race, which led to the points we scored in Zandvoort last weekend. It’s a pity I was the first out on track in the final, because you need a slipstream at Monza.

      I want to congratulate the team and Max on pole. It wasn’t easy to achieve that result, but I felt how successfully everyone is working together in the garage. I think I’m showing consistent results.

      Since the upgrades were fitted to my car in Spa we’ve been progressing, but we still need to keep working on the balance. Tomorrow will be tough because our pace wasn’t the highest, but I feel confident.”