Pierre Gasly delivered a sensational performance to claim his first career pole position in F1 as the Alpine driver stunned the grid’s usual frontrunners at the Italian Grand Prix. A day after losing his podium finish from June’s Monaco Grand Prix for a second time after a court ruling, Gasly was unexpectedly a threat at the front throughout qualifying at high-speed Monza. The Frenchman was third on the timesheet heading into the final Q3 runs but saved his best until last to usurp McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and provisional polesitter George Russell to take the coveted pole spot with a surging final lap of 1:21.786. Gasly’s first pole in F1, in his 190th race, comes six years after he claimed what stands as his sole career win, also at Monza, which was achieved in similarly unlikely circumstances for AlphaTauri.
It is the first pole position in F1 for the Alpine name and a first for the Renault-owned Enstone team since 2009. Russell will start second for a race that championship-leading team-mate Kimi Antonelli will drop to the back row due to engine changes. Antonelli, who helped Russell with a tow during qualifying, took seventh but always knew he would drop to the back wherever he qualified. Piastri is a provisional third but faces a post-session stewards’ investigation for allegedly blocking Red Bull’s Liam Lawson at the end of Q2.
Piastri locked up at the start of his final Q3 lap to blow his own chances at pole. Ferrari’s challenge never truly materialised and the home team were fortunate to even make Q3, with Lewis Hamilton just through to the top 10 by 0.001s. Hamilton went on to qualify fifth with Charles Leclerc fourth on a weekend in which Ferrari, who have introduced an upgraded engine onto their fans, and their passionate fans had hoped for far more. World champion Lando Norris, the winner of the last two grands prix, qualified ninth in the second McLaren but will start eighth due to Antonelli’s penalty.
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen will start sixth with Gasly’s Alpine team-mate Franco Colapinto seventh. Sunday September 67.10am: F3 Feature Race8.40am: F2 Feature Race10.40am: Porsche Supercup Race12.30pm: Grand Prix Sunday: Italian GP build-up2pm: THE ITALIAN GRAND PRIX4pm: Chequered Flag: Italian GP reaction5pm: Ted’s Notebook Formula 1 is at Monza for Ferrari’s home race at the Italian Grand Prix with Sunday’s race live at 2pm on Sky Sports F1.
