F1 LIVE | The 2024 Italian Grand Prix with Norris on pole position
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Lando Norris will start his second race in a row from pole position at the Italian Grand Prix. McLaren, once again, look like the team to beat, as Norris will have his teammate Oscar Piastri start alongside him. Max Verstappen will start all the way down in P7 as Red Bull seem to be struggling at Monza this weekend, giving Norris and McLaren the perfect opportunity to close the gap in both the drivers' and the constructors' titles, respectively. Will they be able to do so? Follow the liveblog on GPblog for all of the important updates.
F1 LIVE | The 2024 Italian Grand Prix at Monza
The weekend at Monza so far
After Norris and McLaren dominated proceedings at the Dutch Grand Prix last weekend, teams were hoping to close the gap to them as they all brought updates to the 'Temple of Speed'. Ferrari, at their home race, brought many updates, including one track-specific one to hopefully give them a win in front of the Tifosi. The updates from every team looked to be doing the trick, as there were no clear indications of any dominant driver or team. Max Verstappen took P1 in FP1, but Lewis Hamilton was able to do so in FP2.
On Saturday in FP3, Hamilton was able to do the same and lead out a Mercedes 1-2, showing they found some pace after a poor showing in Zandvoort. Ferrari too looked close to McLaren, but Red Bull fell off the pace quite dramatically. That was also the case in qualifying, with Verstappen and Sergio Perez only able to qualify in P7 and P8, respectively.
After finishing first in both FP2 and FP3, Hamilton could only take P6, and after qualifying, the seven-time world champion was extremely critical of himself, knowing he could have been much higher up the grid. The two Ferraris came next, however, with Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz taking fourth and fifth, potentially hoping for more after their updates.
However, once again, McLaren found that extra pace when it mattered, and it was Norris who was able to do so by taking pole position ahead of his teammate. For George Russell, the front row just evaded him, and he will start today's Grand Prix from P3. The weather is expected to stay as hot as it has been all weekend, so strategy will play a big part in the proceedings.