Verstappen and Red Bull had appeared on the back foot in Imola all weekend, but after turning around their car set-up, Verstappen came up with a big lap when it mattered and held off McLaren duo Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris for his eighth successive pole.
Verstappen effectively clinched his pole on the straight, with faster top speeds helping him arrive at Turn 2, Tamburello, with a gap twice as big as Piastri's eventual 0.074s gap.
