Verstappen sets new all-time F1 qualifying record with Monza pole

Max Verstappen claimed pole position for the Italian Grand Prix at Monza on Saturday by setting the fastest qualifying lap in Formula 1 history, lowering a benchmark that had stood since 2020.

Verstappen turned a lap of 1 minute 18.792 seconds, an average speed of 164.466 mph, to take top spot. McLaren's Lando Norris had briefly beaten the old record with a lap of 1:18.869 (164.323 mph), overtaking the previous benchmark of 164.286 mph set by Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes at Monza in 2020 before Verstappen further reduced the time.

The laps stood out because they surpassed times recorded by cars widely regarded as among the fastest ever in the sport. The 2020 Mercedes machines, built to a different set of technical regulations, still hold many circuit lap records. Team and technical sources cited a confluence of factors that allowed the 2024-spec cars to eclipse those times at Monza: the present-generation cars have lower aerodynamic drag on the straights than their 2020 counterparts, the low-downforce Monza setup exaggerates straight-line advantages, and the tow or "slipstream" effect between cars on the long straights of the Italian circuit amplified peak speeds during qualifying runs.

Verstappen's pole lap was part of a dominant qualifying session for Red Bull, and it extended his career tally to 45 poles, surpassing the previous Red Bull-era mark held by Sebastian Vettel. The result put Verstappen and his team in a favourable position for Sunday's race, scheduled to start at 14:00 BST on Sept. 8, with live commentary available on BBC Radio 5 Live and live text updates on the BBC Sport website and app.

Monza's combination of lengthy straights and few slow corners rewards teams that can minimise drag while maintaining enough downforce to stabilise the car through the chicanes and the Ascari and Parabolica sequences. That balance is achieved through low-downforce wing settings and precise suspension and tyre management; when several cars line up for a qualifying run, the aerodynamic benefit one car can give another becomes especially pronounced and was a visible factor in Saturday's session.

Despite the headline-grabbing headline times, track and tyre conditions also played a role. Qualifying sessions at Monza tend to produce unusually tight packs of cars running similar lap times because small gains on the straights translate to significant time advantages over the full 5.8-kilometre lap. Teams and drivers synchronised their runs to maximise tow benefits while attempting to avoid traffic that could compromise a flying lap.

The new mark joins a wider set of records and comparison points between cars built to different regulatory eras. Many single-lap circuit records remain with the 2020 specification cars that were optimised under a different regulatory framework, and comparisons must account for the different aerodynamic philosophies, tyre constructions and power unit characteristics across seasons.

Norris's performance underlined McLaren's competitiveness at high-speed tracks and suggested the team could be a factor in Sunday’s race at Monza. Verstappen and Red Bull, however, arrived with the advantage of pole and the demonstrated ability to extract a record lap when track position and tow opportunities aligned.

Race officials and teams will now prepare for the Grand Prix, where strategy, tyre wear and the ability to convert qualifying advantage into race pace will determine the outcome. The qualifying session at Monza, with two drivers eclipsing a 2020 benchmark, highlighted how changes in car design and racecraft have altered the landscape of lap-time comparisons in modern Formula 1.