It\u2019s safe to say few onlookers were expecting a Max Verstappen pole position at the 2025 Italian Grand Prix, but some messy runs from the competition enabled the Red Bull driver to find his footing at the front of the field.<\/p>\n
He was a clear winner, but we have more winners and losers to share after this record-breaking pole run.<\/p>\n
Winners and losers from the 2025 Italian Grand Prix qualifying
\nWinner: Max Verstappen<\/p>\n
It might be a step too far to claim that\u00a0no one predicted a Max Verstappen<\/a> pole position, but it\u2019s certainly true that a good majority of predictions for the sharp end of the Italian Grand Prix starting grid centered on drivers from two outfits: The dominant McLaren and the hometown Ferrari.<\/p>\n And then: Max Verstappen.<\/p>\n We\u2019ve long since bypassed the point where it would be reasonable to think a championship resurgence is in the cards for the Dutch driver, but a Verstappen pole adds a much-needed layer of excitement to what has otherwise turned into a two-horse race. (Who knew we\u2019d be celebrating a Verstappen pole as being\u00a0something different!)<\/p>\n Red Bull in general has arrived in Italy with a strong package, and even Yuki Tsunoda managed to sneak into the top 10 for qualifying in what feels like ages.<\/p>\n Now, we wait to see if qualifying pace can translate to long-run race pace.<\/p>\n Loser: Oscar Piastri<\/p>\n Oscar Piastri<\/a> will be starting the Italian Grand Prix from one of the most challenging places in the first few rows: Just behind Max Verstappen.<\/p>\n During the post-qualifying FIA press conference, Piastri admitted that while his laps all felt fairly clean, none of them felt spectacular. And while it is indeed cleanliness and consistency that wins championships, those moments of transcendent speed can be critical.<\/p>\n It may seem a bit dramatic to call P3 on the grid a \u2018losing\u2019 position, but for the championship leader of a title fight still too close to call, the Australian has handed momentum \u2014 and, potentially, preferential race strategy \u2014 over to his biggest rival by failing to snag pole position. And, to make matters more challenging, his No. 1 target at the start is the ever-defensive Verstappen.<\/p>\n Winner: Lando Norris<\/p>\n In contrast to his teammate Piastri, Lando Norris<\/a> had a messy qualifying session until the exact moment it mattered: The final lap of Q3. That was the lap that moved him from the \u2018loser\u2019 category to being classified as a winner.<\/p>\n Norris himself was candid about his struggles in qualifying, telling media during the post-session press conference that it was \u201cimpressive\u201d that he\u2019d managed to do \u201csuch a bad job\u201d throughout the session: Hitting kerbs, locking up, and lacking an overall rhythm that is so critical at a high-speed track like Monza.<\/p>\n Indeed, the low point of the session came on his first flying lap in Q2, where he cut a chicane and hopped a few kerbs, requiring a stop in the pits and a mad dash to make it to the Top 10.<\/p>\n But for me, Norris\u2019 true \u2018winner\u2019 status has something to do with another admission he made in the press conference: The \u201cterrible\u201d feeling of being sent out of the garage onto an empty track.<\/p>\n \u201cI knew already last week that I was going to have a bad Q1, because I knew I wad going to have to go out on the pit lane first,\u201d Norris said.<\/p>\n That likely has a lot to do with the nature of the championship battle at the moment. Piastri has a 34-point lead over his teammate, and even though McLaren talks a lot about avoiding favoritism, it is indeed simply more pragmatic to give the better-performing driver of the previous weekend the better qualifying strategy.<\/p>\n But the title battle is still close, and Norris\u2019 P2 qualifying position means he\u2019s well positioned to establish himself as the lead McLaren driver in Monza in an effort to mount a new battle against Piastri.<\/p>\n More from the Italian Grand Prix weekend:<\/p>\n \ud83d\udc49\u00a0McLaren\u2019s plan to annihilate rivals comes to life at Monza<\/a><\/p>\n \ud83d\udc49\u00a0Uncovered: Inside Ferrari\u2019s raft of updates for the Italian Grand Prix<\/a><\/p>\n Loser: Ferrari<\/p>\n Ferrari<\/a>, the hometown favorite, looked as if it had a shot at challenging for pole position during the first two practice sessions leading into the Italian Grand Prix \u2014 but as Helmut Marko quipped, Ferrari are always quick on Friday at Monza.<\/p>\n Come Saturday, the chart-topping pace disintegrated.<\/p>\n Fourth for Charles Leclerc and the fifth-fastest time for Lewis Hamilton is by no means the end of the world, but it does represent a keen disappointment at one\u2019s home race.<\/p>\n Of particular disappointment is Lewis Hamilton. Thanks to a five-place grid penalty applied to his Italian Grand Prix start following a pre-Dutch GP violation, it was clear the seven-time champion was going to be on the outside looking in no matter where he qualified. But from 10th on the grid, he\u2019ll have a major uphill battle ahead of him.<\/p>\n Winner: Gabriel Bortoleto<\/p>\n Rookie driver Gabriel Bortoleto<\/a> was on a hot streak that came to a very dismal end last time out in Zandvoort, but it appears that the Dutch Grand Prix was more of a one-off than a defining trend, because the Brazilian driver brought his Sauber home with the eighth quickest time in Q3 \u2014 and he\u2019ll even see a bump up to P7 thanks to Lewis Hamilton\u2019s five place grid penalty.<\/p>\n That\u2019s a major boon for Bortoleto himself, but also for Sauber, which saw Nico Hulkenberg fall out of the running in Q2. The rookie is showing that he can not only stand up to the pressure of competing alongside a veteran, but he can also outshine that veteran on a regular basis.<\/p>\n Loser: Williams<\/p>\n Confidence was high for the Williams<\/a> camp after Friday practice, which saw both drivers dicing with the big dogs up at the very sharp end of the timing sheets. The team was confident that was genuine, race-ready pace, and the team entered Saturday with high hopes that a Q3 showing was in the cards.<\/p>\n Instead, it\u2019s a 13th-place start for Carlos Sainz, with Alex Albon right behind him.<\/p>\n The primary issues seem to come down to communication, strategy, and plain old bad timing.<\/p>\n Albon nearly missed out on moving to Q2 by opting to complete all of Q1 on the same set of soft tyres, then had to make a trip to the weigh bridge just before he hit the track for his final Q2 run.<\/p>\n Over on Carlos Sainz\u2019s half of the garage, things seemed a bit calmer aside from a run-in with Isack Hadjar and complaints that his tyres fell off halfway through his flying lap.<\/p>\n Winner: Yuki Tsunoda<\/p>\n Accounting for Lewis Hamilton\u2019s grid penalty, Yuki Tsunoda<\/a> will line up on the Italian Grand Prix grid in ninth position on Sunday morning \u2014 the first time the Japanese driver has managed to qualify in the top 10 since Belgium. Prior to that, you have to stretch back to Miami to find Tsunoda anywhere near the top of the timing charts in qualifying.<\/p>\n The 10th quickest time on the grid isn\u2019t generally anything to write home about, but Tsunoda admitted that he would have likely found more speed had he been able to take advantage of a slipstream in Q3.<\/p>\n Part of his pace likely has to do with the fact that Red Bull Racing has made some tweaks and upgrades this weekend, of course. But it does set Tsunoda up for what could be his best Italian Grand Prix finish of all time.<\/p>\n His previous four performances have\u2026 not been great. He\u2019s failed to start twice, retired once, and finished 14th once. This could be the first step toward turning things around.<\/p>\n Loser: Racing Bulls<\/p>\n