Max Verstappen has been the best driver on the Formula 1 grid for many years now. As several commentators have pointed out, he sometimes leaves spectators wondering "how did he do that?"
Well, today's pole position at the Italian Grand Prix happens to fall into that category of brilliant moments: let's try to explain it together using telemetry data.
The decisive moment
First things first: in the third free practice session, Red Bull decided to trim the rear wing on the four-time reigning World Champion's car.
"Why did they do that?", you might be wondering. To reduce drag and achieve a higher top speed on the straights that characterise the Monza track.
However, in Formula 1, no choice comes without a compromise. For the Milton Keynes team in particular, that set-up change could only mean one thing: less downforce and, consequently, a more difficult car to drive in the corners. But this had little or no impact on Max Verstappen.
Verstappen vs Norris
As we can see from the graph below, Red Bull's compromise paid off: Verstappen had in fact a much higher top speed than his rivals (blue circles).
Graphical comparison between Max Verstappen and Lando Norris showing speed in km/h
Despite an overall performance that was not up to par with his rivals in the middle sector (orange circles), the Dutchman limited the damage in the corners and took pole position by 77 thousandths of a second.
Not only that: Verstappen's superb performance meant that his lap set a new record for the historic Italian track, as well as the best average speed in F1 history (264.681 km/h).
Tomorrow, on paper, the Red Bull driver will struggle to keep up with the two McLarens and is likely to suffer higher tyre wear over a long distance stint, which could lead him to choose a two-stop strategy.
Regardless of how the race turns out, one thing is certain: only an alien like Max Verstappen can deliver special moments like this afternoon's to the fans.
Any other driver, pushing their car to the limit like that, would have made a mistake. He didn't. And that's what makes him special.
Read also: Verstappen shocks Monza by snatching pole position from both McLarens
Main cover photo www.redbullcontentpool.com
Inside photo www.f1-tempo.com
All the news, photos, weather, session times and times from the Italian GP 2025
