Monza, Italy – In a stunning turn of events for the Alpine team, Pierre Gasly secured his first career pole position for the Italian Grand Prix on Saturday. The French driver, who captured his lone Formula 1 victory at Monza in 2020, was visibly thrilled when his team radio announced he was fastest.
“Let’s go! Been waiting for that one!” Gasly exclaimed after the session, noting the emotional significance of achieving a pole at a track so close to his home in Milan. He finished 0.060 seconds ahead of Mercedes driver George Russell, who admitted he did not expect Gasly to be in the fight for the top spot.
Surprise from the front‑row contenders
Russell praised Gasly’s performance, saying, “To be totally honest I don’t think we thought they were in the fight and it goes to show what a great job he did.” The surprise extended to other drivers as well. Oscar Piastri, who posted the third‑fastest time, received a three‑place grid penalty for impeding Red Bull’s Liam Lawson, promoting Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton to the second row.
Hamilton narrowly made it into Q3, edging out the competition by a mere thousandth of a second, while Max Verstappen moved up to fifth. Championship leader Kimi Antonelli qualified seventh but will start from the back due to a grid penalty for a planned engine change.
Implications for Sunday’s race
Gasly’s pole adds excitement to Sunday’s race, especially as Monza’s high‑speed layout often yields overtaking opportunities. Russell, who described qualifying as “scrappy,” believes he can challenge Gasly on race day. He also recalled a recent chess‑style game with Gasly that ended with the Frenchman beating him again in qualifying.
“Massive congrats to Pierre because that’s an incredible performance,” Russell said. “We were actually playing a game of chess about 15 minutes before qualifying and he beat me there and I thought, ‘Well I think I’ll beat you in qualifying’ and here we are – he’s ahead of me again.”
Gasly’s achievement comes just after the FIA’s International Court of Appeal reinstated a penalty from the Monaco Grand Prix, stripping him of his only podium of the season. Despite that setback, his pole position at Monza demonstrates the resilience and talent of a driver who has long chased this milestone.
“That’s a problem for tomorrow,” Gasly responded when asked about his car’s long‑run pace, hinting at the challenge of converting pole into a race win.
Original reporting: Texarkana Gazette — read the source article.
