Max Verstappen claimed a record-breaking 45th pole position for Red Bull Racing ahead of tomorrow's Italian Grand Prix, with teammate Yuki Tsunoda starting in P9.
Verstappen's first run in Q1 saw him sit P4, around two tenths back from McLaren's Lando Norris in P1 after dipping a tyre into the gravel. Tsunoda, meanwhile, initially sat P8, 0.428 seconds behind Norris, on his first timed lap.
After other drivers completed their second runs, before the two Red Bulls', Verstappen slipped down to P10 and Tsunoda down to P13. The pair maintained a two-run strategy, opting to remain in the garage instead of fitting in more laps as time dwindled.
Tsunoda took a new set of soft tyres for his second run in Q1, while Verstappen stuck with his used set. With the new set, Tsunoda briefly jumped up to P3, dropping to P4 after Verstappen's lap put him P2 with other cars still running their laps.
The times remained, with no one else able to improve above them, seeing Verstappen and Tsunoda through to Q2 comfortably in P2 and P4, respectively.
Verstappen started on a brand new set of softs for his first run in Q2. His first run set the early frontrunner with a 1:19.140, while Tsunoda came in 0.293 seconds behind that.
Neither Red Bull driver improved their first times, but it was enough to see Verstappen through to Q3 in P1 and Tsunoda sneak through in P10 after others below him failed to improve on their times.
It was mixed fortunes for the team's first runs, with Verstappen putting in a sensational lap to put himself on provisional pole with a 1:18.923 lap time while Tsunoda appeared to have an issue, seeing him cross the line in P9 and 0.805 seconds behind his teammate.
Tsunoda improved slightly on his second run, but it wasn't enough to hold off those behind him, seeing the Japanese driver start tomorrow's race in P9 courtesy of Hamilton's five-place grid penalty bumping him up one spot from P10.
For Verstappen, however, it was a day of records as he snatched pole position from Norris right at the death, picking up a record 45th pole position for Red Bull, moving ahead of Sebastian Vettel's 44, while also seeing him claim a new lap record at Monza with a 1:18.792, eclipsing Lewis Hamilton's record from 2020.
Speaking after qualifying, Verstappen commented: "Around here, with the low downforce, it's always very difficult to nail the lap. Under breaking, it's very easy to make mistakes, also."
"But Q3 felt good, happy with the laps, and to be on pole here, for us, is also fantastic."
He added: "The car's been working a lot better the whole weekend, and to be able to fight for pole, I'm very happy with that."
