Lando Norris secures pole for Italian GP as McLaren lock out the front row at Monza. Verstappen 7th

MONZA, Italy (AP) — Lando Norris surged into pole position in qualifying for Sunday’s Italian Grand Prix as he tries to cut further into Max Verstappen’s championship lead.

McLaren locked out the front of the grid for the race at Monza as Norris finished 0.109 ahead of teammate Oscar Piastri on Saturday.

Moreover, Verstappen will start back in seventh on a circuit where overtaking is tricky. The three-time defending champion has already seen his lead in the drivers’ standings cut to 70 points by Norris, with nine races left.

The top six in qualifying on Saturday were separated by less than two tenths of a second.

Mercedes driver George Russell will start third, just ahead of the Ferrari duo of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz.

Lewis Hamilton will be sixth on the grid in his last time racing at Monza as a Mercedes driver before his move to Ferrari at the end of the season.

___

AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing