Verstappen has been on pole position 44 times but just once at the Italian Grand Prix, where he has triumphed twice.
Need for speed: Max Verstappen is elated as he takes pole position.Credit: AP
“It was tight, we were still lacking a tiny amount and we made some final changes which I think allowed me to push a bit more and that’s exactly what you need in qualifying,” Verstappen said. “For us, it’s a great moment.
“Historically this season the race has always been a little bit more complicated for us, but we are going to give it everything we have. That’s the only thing we can do and then we will see what happens tomorrow.”
It is a 45th pole position for Verstappen and a fifth this season, although only one of his two wins this year has come from the front of the grid.
He will be joined on the front row on Sunday (Monday AEDT) by Norris, who trails Piastri by 34 points in the championship with nine races left of the season.
“Max has been quick all weekend and it’s never a surprise with Max,” Norris said. “It was quite a session from me, up and down and too many mistakes here and there. But to put it together on the last lap, I was pretty happy with P2.”
Norris almost didn’t make it out of Q2 as an early mistake meant he had to change tyres and he needed a tow from Piastri to get out of danger and go through in fifth place.
Teenager Antonelli impresses
Italian teenager Kimi Antonelli was seventh-fastest, just behind Mercedes teammate George Russell as he bounced back in front of his home crowd.
The only Italian on the grid, Antonelli had a tough introduction last year as he crashed at Monza 10 minutes into his first F1 practice session. The 19-year-old also ended Leclerc’s race at last weekend’s Dutch Grand Prix.
Russell and Antonelli will move up a place on the grid because of Hamilton’s penalty, as will Gabriel Bortoleto, Fernando Alonso and Yuki Tsunoda, who round out the top 10.
French rookie Isack Hadjar was “over the moon” at a first F1 podium last week. It was back to earth with a thud as the 20-year-old driver was eliminated in Q1 on Saturday.
Hadjar would have started Sunday’s race from the pit lane in any case, due to an engine change.
“I made a mistake on my lap and that’s it. It’s my first mistake in qualifying in a while so it happens,” the young Racing Bulls driver said. “I’m starting last tomorrow so even if I put it on pole I wouldn’t care because I’m starting from the back.”