Italian Grand Prix: Pierre Gasly Claims a Surprise Pole Position at Monza
Pierre Gasly secures a sensational pole position at Monza, giving Alpine one of the most surprising qualifying sessions of the season. The Frenchman finished Q3 with a time of 1:21.786, just 60 thousandths of a second ahead of George Russell’s Mercedes and 180 thousandths ahead of Oscar Piastri’s McLaren. For Gasly, this is a special result at the Monza circuit. In 2020, behind the wheel of an AlphaTauri, he had already claimed a historic victory at Monza. It’s a track that, once again, seems to bring out the best in the French driver.
Behind him, Russell had to settle for second place. The Mercedes driver tried to take advantage of the slipstream from his teammate Kimi Antonelli, but the slipstreaming wasn’t enough to secure pole position. Ferrari, on the other hand, must play catch-up. Charles Leclerc is fourth, 218 thousandths behind Gasly, while Lewis Hamilton finishes fifth, 225 thousandths behind. Piastri also slots in ahead of the Ferraris, while Max Verstappen is sixth in his Red Bull.
Also worth noting is the situation involving Oscar Piastri, who could face a three-position grid penalty for an incident of impeding against Liam Lawson. Any such penalty would therefore alter the final starting grid. Even more complicated is the situation for Kimi Antonelli, who was seventh in Q3 but is set to start from 21st position, according to the results at the end of qualifying.
Rounding out the top ten is Franco Colapinto, eighth in the second Alpine, ahead of Lando Norris and Arvid Lindblad. This result confirms an extraordinary day for the French team and, above all, for Gasly. The pole position at Monza also bears the mark of Flavio Briatore, who has achieved yet another major milestone in his Formula 1 career. Alpine thus steals the show at the temple of speed, surprising Ferrari, McLaren, Mercedes, and Red Bull at the very most crucial moment of the weekend.
Here are the Q3 times:
1 George Russell Mercedes 1:21.929
2 Oscar Piastri McLaren +0.037
3 Pierre Gasly Alpine +0.072
4 Charles Leclerc Ferrari +0.075
5 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing +0.141
6 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes +0.164
7 Lando Norris McLaren +0.327
8 Arvid Lindblad, Racing Bulls, +0.484
9 Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari, +0.795
10 Franco Colapinto, Alpine, +0.806
