Italian Grand Prix: Max Verstappen takes pole ahead of Lando Norris at Monza

The McLaren drivers said they had expected Verstappen to be in the mix.

Norris, who broke Hamilton’s record first with his best lap of 1:18.869, said: “He’s been quick all weekend. It’s never a surprise with Max. It was quite a session from me, up and down, and too many mistakes, but I managed to pull it out in the end so I’m happy with P2.

“I feel like I didn’t do the best of jobs but to end up P2 I’m still happy with.

“The race is normally our strength but to get past Max won’t be easy. And the Ferraris will want to get through as quickly as possible.”

Piastri was 0.113secs behind his team-mate after appearing to be a little off Norris’ pace all weekend.

“Turn one was a little bit average, but the rest of the lap all felt pretty tidy,” the Australian said.

“I felt like I executed a pretty good session but it’s been incredibly tight this weekend. Max and Red Bull looked quick. A lot of teams looked quick, it has not been quite as comfortable for us.”