Pierre Gasly pulled off the surprise of the Italian Grand Prix qualifying session by claiming the first pole position of his Formula 1 career. The French Alpine driver defied all expectations at Monza, edging out George Russell by just 60 thousandths of a second.
Mercedes had appeared to be the team to beat heading into qualifying, but Gasly delivered when it mattered most. The Frenchman completed his final attempt with the fastest time, securing a front-row start that had seemed out of reach only moments earlier.
Gasly stopped the clock at 1:21.786, while Russell had to settle for second, 0.060 seconds behind. Such a tiny margin makes the Alpine driver’s achievement even more remarkable.
Gasly’s performance was particularly impressive because he did not set the fastest time in any of the three sectors of the circuit. Instead, his ability to improve his lap as a whole allowed him to put together the winning combination and claim a pole position that Alpine had not achieved in 17 years.
For Gasly, the result is even more special because of where it happened. Monza was the circuit that gave him his first Formula 1 victory in 2020, when he was driving for AlphaTauri. Six years later, the Frenchman has once again become the star of the show at the same track, this time securing the most important qualifying result of his career.
At the end of his decisive lap, Gasly unleashed his joy over the team radio, celebrating a pole position he had been waiting for a long time.
The result also comes at the end of an especially intense weekend for the Alpine driver. Gasly arrived in Monza after officially losing the podium he had secured at the Monaco Grand Prix following the decision of the International Court of Appeal, which intervened after appeals were lodged by McLaren and Red Bull.
Behind Gasly and Russell, Oscar Piastri took third place. The McLaren driver finished 0.180 seconds off pole, but he could still face a penalty for an impeding incident involving Liam Lawson during Q2.
Qualifying was below expectations for Ferrari in front of its home crowd. Charles Leclerc secured fourth place, while Lewis Hamilton finished fifth. Both drivers were more than two tenths of a second slower than Gasly.
Max Verstappen took sixth with Red Bull, ahead of Andrea Kimi Antonelli. However, the Italian will not be able to keep the position he earned in qualifying: a grid penalty for an engine change will force him to start from the back of the field.
Franco Colapinto brought the other Alpine to eighth place, ahead of reigning world champion Lando Norris and Arvid Lindblad, who completed the top ten.
Gabriel Bortoleto narrowly missed out on Q3, qualifying 11th for Audi. Oliver Bearman was 12th, followed by Nico Hülkenberg and Liam Lawson. The New Zealander’s elimination also complicated Red Bull’s plans, as the team had been counting on his contribution to provide Verstappen with a useful slipstream along Monza’s long straight.
Carlos Sainz finished 15th with Williams, ahead of Esteban Ocon. Yuki Tsunoda, meanwhile, was eliminated in Q1 after experiencing a problem with the fuel system of his Racing Bulls shortly before qualifying began.
Williams also sacrificed Alex Albon, who was already set to start from the back because of an engine-related penalty, using him to provide a slipstream for Sainz and help his teammate make it through Q1.
In the battle among the teams at the back of the field, the two Cadillacs managed to qualify ahead of both Aston Martins, with Valtteri Bottas faster than Sergio Perez. Fernando Alonso won the internal battle against Lance Stroll, while the Canadian set an unwanted record: he became the first driver in Formula 1 history to reach 100 Q1 eliminations.
But there is no doubt that the most important verdict of the day came at the very front. Pierre Gasly will start from pole at Monza, with George Russell alongside him on the front row. A result that seemed unthinkable before qualifying now gives the Frenchman a major opportunity to turn his qualifying shock into another remarkable achievement at the circuit where he already made history in 2020.