Max sixth in Monza qualifying: 'Problem with the car'

Published on 05 September 2026 by Kees-Jan Koster

Max Verstappen qualified sixth for the Italian Grand Prix. Pole position surprisingly went to Pierre Gasly in the Alpine, who narrowly edged George Russell's Mercedes. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) and Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) share the second row of the grid.

“Shame,” Max says after qualifying. “I had a better feeling in FP3, the balance was a little better, but in qualifying there was something wrong at the rear of the car. We have had that problem before. The car then does not cope properly with the kerbs and bumps. You simply lose time there; I think at least two tenths.”

Looking ahead to Sunday's race at Monza, Max continues: “I do not know whether we are allowed to fix the problem on the car. If something is broken, sometimes you are allowed to replace it, but sometimes you are not. If the car stays like this, it is going to be a painful race, because there is more potential in it.”

It is 34°C as qualifying gets under way at the Temple of Speed. In the opening part of qualifying, there are a number of surprising names at the front. Pierre Gasly (1:22.612) is fastest in his Alpine, ahead of Verstappen and Lando Norris. The first drivers eliminated are Yuki Tsunoda (Racing Bulls), Alex Albon (Williams), the Cadillacs (Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez), and the Aston Martins (Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll).

In the second part, Max reports problems with his car through a number of corners on his first run. Despite this, the Dutchman improves to 1:22.188 on his second run, which is ultimately good enough for P6. Kimi Antonelli is fastest (1:21.882), ahead of the McLarens (Oscar Piastri and Norris). The Ferraris scrape into the top ten, with Lewis Hamilton just one thousandth ahead of Gabriel Bortoleto's Audi. The other drivers eliminated are Oliver Bearman (Haas), Nico Hülkenberg (Audi), Liam Lawson (Red Bull Racing), Carlos Sainz (Williams) and Esteban Ocon (Haas).

In the decisive third part, Russell gets a slipstream from his Mercedes team-mate Antonelli on his first run. The Brit needs it, but nevertheless goes narrowly fastest, followed by Piastri and Gasly. Leclerc is fourth, 75 thousandths behind. Max is then sitting in P5 at +0.141 (1:22.070).

In the final minutes, all ten drivers make another attempt to improve their times, but only a few manage to do so. Hamilton takes P5 away from Max, relegating him to sixth on the grid. But the biggest surprise is Gasly (1:21.786), who beats Russell by six hundredths to take pole position at Monza.

Results qualifying Italy: