MONZA, Italy (AP) — It takes something special to beat McLaren this year. And that's what Max Verstappen produced on Saturday as he stunned title contenders Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri by snatching pole position for the Italian Grand Prix with the fastest lap ever at Monza. Verstappen set a new lap record in the final part of qualifying for Sunday’s race and Norris couldn’t quite match it, ending up .077 of a second behind the Red Bull driver, with Piastri 0.190 off the pace.

“Yes guys, yes. That is unbelievable,” Verstappen yelled over the team radio. “Relax here, it is all good." Four-time world champion Verstappen raced around the 3.54 miles (5.79 kilometers) of asphalt at the so-called Temple of Speed in a time of 1 minute, 18.792 seconds, for an average speed of 164.466 mph (264.6

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