Carlos Sainz sends Monza wild as Ferrari takes pole for Italian GP ahead of Max Verstappen with Lewis Hamilton eighth

CARLOS SAINZ sent the Ferrari fans into raptures after taking pole for the Italian GP at Monza.

Sainz and his Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc, traded positions at the top of the timesheets as for once Max Verstappen was denied pole.

The Dutchman is chasing a record tenth straight win in Sunday’s race but will have to overtake at least one car if he is to do it, as he lines up in second-place.

Sainz said: “It has been such an intense qualifying, all three of us went for it and were on the limit.

“I got goosebumps when I got to the finishing line and saw the crowd cheering, it is incredible.

“We will see if we can battle Max [in the race], he is usually quicker in the long runs, but we will give it our all.

“Hopefully I can get a good start and make Max’s life difficult but being realistic Red Bull should be quicker.”

Verstappen made a rare mistake on his first flying lap but is still optimistic of getting his 12th win of the season.

He said: “You could see it was very tight. From my side it was a little more tricky but we cannot complain, we have had so many weekends where we have put the car on track and it has been easy-going.

“I am happy with second-place and confident for tomorrow.”

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George Russell qualified in fourth place in his Mercedes while Alex Albon was sixth for Williams.

However, Lewis Hamilton will start down in eighth spot, behind rookie Oscar Piastri and just ahead of Lando Norris.

Hamilton said: “To be leapfrogged by the Williams and the McLaren, it’s not easy.

“George did a great job today, so I’ve just got to try to progress forward somehow tomorrow.

“The Williams will be almost impossible to overtake because they’re fastest on the straights, but when there’s a will, there’s a way.”