Norris second as Verstappen bags pole in Monza

LANDO Norris’ world championship aspirations were dealt a boost after he qualified second for the Italian Grand Prix, with Max Verstappen taking pole position.

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Norris, who trails Oscar Piastri by 34 points with nine rounds to go, suffered a scruffy session at the sun-cooked Temple of Speed before pulling out his best lap of the day in the closing moments.

Norris briefly took top spot in Monza only to be relegated by Verstappen, who will start from the front after he edged out the McLaren driver by 0.077 seconds.

Piastri will line up in third, more than a tenth back from Norris, with the Ferrari duo of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton fourth and fifth respectively.

However, Hamilton will be relegated to 10th as he serves a five-place grid drop for his yellow flag infringement at last weekend’s Dutch Grand Prix.