Damon Hill reacts to Max Verstappen breaking Lewis Hamilton’s all-time F1 lap record at Monza

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Max Verstappen earned pole position for the Italian Grand Prix with a lap that broke the all-time record around Monza.

It was an unexpected pole from the Red Bull driver, after Lando Norris topped out the practice sessions for McLaren. But a mistake in Q2 from Norris put him under pressure to get into Q3, then at the start of Q3 he didn’t get the important tow for his provisional lap.

Verstappen was the first driver into the 1:18s for his first lap, and then managed to improve on his initial effort by a tenth to secure his pole at the end of qualifying.

His 1:18.792s is the fastest lap ever around Monza, beating the lap record set by Lewis Hamilton in 2020 which was a 1:18.887s.

Reacting to the lap record on the social media website Instagram, 1996 world champion Damon Hill gave his thoughts on Verstappen beating a record set by Hamilton.

Damon Hill gives two-word reaction to Max Verstappen breaking Lewis Hamilton’s Monza record

Verstappen’s lap not only broke Hamilton’s record, but his pole lap was also the fastest average speed for an F1 lap in the sport’s 75-year history.

The average speed for Verstappen was 164.465mph, which was 0.2mph quicker than Hamilton who clocked 164.268mph throughout his effort in 2020.

Reacting to Verstappen’s effort, Hill simply wrote two words on his Instagram stories: “Maxed out!”

Hamilton would be handed a penalty for entering the pit lane while it was closed during the race in 2020, which paved the way for Pierre Gasly to take a sensational first victory for AlphaTauri.

Max Verstappen thinks 2020 Mercedes still faster

Much has changed at Monza since the 2020 lap record by Hamilton, notably the kerbs at Ascari are now flatter than they were.

Verstappen believes the 2020 Mercedes W11, which won 13 races that season, would still be quicker if he drove it around the track today.

“The new tarmac helps around here, kerbing – like the kerbs opened up a little bit. I think the 2020 Mercedes is still quicker if you put it on the track now, but it’s been good. At some tracks it’s more fun than others,” said Verstappen.

The current F1 cars also have less drag than in 2020 and are faster on the straights, which is a massive benefit at Monza, where much of the lap is spent at full throttle.