World championship leader Oscar Piastri has his work cut out at the Italian Grand Prix after being pipped by both his teammate Lando Norris and a rejuvenated Max Verstappen, who flew to pole in record-breaking fashion at Monza.
The Australian pacesetter was adamant that he was "still pretty confident for the race" but he faces a formidable task after world champion Verstappen produced what F1 was hailing as the fastest ever lap in the sport's annals on Saturday (Sunday AEST).
The Dutch Red Bull maestro put in one of his special performances, setting the record of 1 minute 18.792 seconds to snatch first on the grid by 0.077 from Norris, who had been quickest in the second and third practice sessions but struggled early in the qualifying.
