Norris leads Piastri 13-5 in qualifying as Verstappen dominates Hadjar at Italian GP

Lando Norris moved further ahead of Oscar Piastri in McLaren’s internal qualifying battle at the 2026 Italian Grand Prix, stretching his season record to 13-5 overall — or 8-5 when sprint qualifying sessions are excluded. Norris secured the upper hand at Monza by 0.290 seconds in Q3.

At Mercedes, the team-mate duel between George Russell and rookie Kimi Antonelli remains remarkably tight. Both drivers sit level at 9-9 across all sessions (6-7 without sprints), with Russell edging Antonelli by 0.247 seconds in Q3 at Italy. Antonelli, in only his debut season, has matched the experienced Russell with a consistency that will raise eyebrows across the paddock.

Red Bull’s picture is more complex following the mid-season driver change. Max Verstappen led Isack Hadjar 12-3 in their head-to-head before Hadjar was replaced by Liam Lawson. Verstappen has since gone 3-0 against Lawson, including a 0.633-second advantage in Q2 at Monza, where Lawson was eliminated in 14th.

At Ferrari, Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton are locked in the closest battle of any top team, sitting at 9-9 overall (7-6 without sprints). Hamilton edged Leclerc by just 0.007 seconds in Q3 at the Italian GP, underlining how fine the margins have been between the two throughout the season.

Williams continue to struggle in qualifying, with Alexander Albon trailing Carlos Sainz 12-4 across all sessions — a gap of 10-2 when sprint qualifying is removed. The data reflects a difficult year for Albon, who has rarely been able to match his team-mate’s single-lap pace.

These standings are compiled exclusively from qualifying results, with grid penalties excluded to ensure the numbers reflect pure pace. Where a driver was unable to set a representative lap time due to a technical failure or incident, the session is noted accordingly in the record.