Autodromo Nazionale Monza, known to all in the motorsport world simply as Monza, is called the Temple of Speed for a reason.
Max Verstappen helped Monza live up to its name on Saturday with a qualifying performance that will echo throughout F1’s storied history.
The Red Bull driver and four-time champion rocketed to pole position at the Temple of Speed Saturday with a lap of 1:18.792, the fastest lap in the legendary circuit’s history. But if that was not enough, that lap time over the 3.6-mile circuit translated to an average speed of 164.47 miles per hour, making Verstappen’s effort the fastest qualifying lap in the history of the sport.
“It was good,” said Verstappen of his final push lap in Q3. “It’s always tough around here. Low downforce, easy to make mistakes on the braking or on entries because you have to commit, but with low downforce, that’s not always easy. Also, you know, the closing speeds in certain corners to hit the apex perfectly.
“But I think that final lap was pretty decent. To get pole here for us is big. It’s not always been a good track for us, especially last year was quite a bit of a disaster. So, yeah, this year much better and very happy to be first.”
Asked about setting that new record, as well as this generation of cars, by Luke Smith of The Athletic, Verstappen gave credit to the car and driver whose record he broke, the 164.27 mph record set by Lewis Hamilton at Monza in 2020.
“[This generation of cars] are pretty decent in the high speed. They’re quite quick in a straight line. Of course, the low speed, that’s where we lose out compared to the previous generation. And yeah, on some tracks you can do these lap records now,” started Verstappen.
“Honestly, I didn’t even think about that when I crossed the line, but it’s nice. It didn’t feel too bad. The cars have been fun. Also, the new tarmac helps around here, kerbing – like the kerbs opened up a little bit. I think the 2020 Mercedes is still quicker if you would put it on the track now, but it’s been good. At some tracks it’s more fun than others.”
As for whether the incredible pace the RB21 showed on Saturday will translate to a win on Sunday, Verstappen held his cards close to the vest.
“Difficult to say,” added Verstappen. “I think this season so far, the race pace has not always been great. So I hope that I can do something tomorrow, but I think anyway it’s been a great day for us. We’ve been competitive today. We’ll try to do the best we can tomorrow, but of course to stay here will be tough, but we’ll see what we can do.”
