Lando Norris led Oscar Piastri to a McLaren one-two in Italian Grand Prix qualifying, with title rival Max Verstappen’s Red Bull in seventh.

Norris’ second pole in a row – and fifth of his career – combined with Verstappen’s difficult session, was exactly what the Briton needed as he seeks to close the 70-point gap to the Dutchman in the championship.

George Russell took third for Mercedes, ahead of the Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz and team-mate Lewis Hamilton.

Red Bull had Sergio Perez sacrifice his final lap to give Verstappen a tow on the run down to Parabolica on his final lap, in a vain attempt to vault up the grid.

But it succeeded only in getting Verstappen ahead of Perez, with the McLarens, Ferraris and Mercedes out of reach on another weekend of struggle for the world champions, who appear to have lost their way with their once-dominant car.

Perez, who had been faster than Verstappen on his first lap in final qualifying, ran wide at the second Lesmo corner, ruining his own lap before helping Verstappen.

Norris beat Piastri by just 0.035secs on his first lap in the top-10 shootout, and managed to improve his time on his second attempt despite not being happy with his lap, while Piastri did not. Norris ended up on pole by 0.109secs.

“To have a first and second when the field is as tight as it has been all weekend is a little bit of a surprise, but a nice one,” Norris said.

“My lap, it hurts me to say it, was not a great lap. My first one was. But still good enough for pole and still very happy.

“There are a lot of quick drivers behind in quick cars, so I am not expecting an easy race. Plenty of question marks but a lot of excitement, I’m sure.”

Russell, who was 0.113secs off pole, said: “A little bit better than I expected. It was a really tough session. Not too far behind the McLarens, they are so fast at the moment, I am super-happy with third.

“I think it’s going to be a tight battle, everyone is so close out there, so exciting for F1, everyone’s been waiting for this.”

Verstappen was complaining about a lack of grip for the entire session, at one point describing his car as “shocking”. He faces an uphill battle trying to limit the damage Norris could inflict in the race.

More to follow.