Pierre Gasly Takes Surprise Italian Grand Prix Pole at Monza

Pierre Gasly secured the first pole position of his Formula 1 career at Monza on Saturday, putting Alpine at the front of the grid for the Italian Grand Prix. The French driver will start alongside Mercedes’ George Russell after delivering the session’s biggest surprise.

Watch the highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EITo7M9RKMA

BBC Sport reported that the result came in Gasly’s 190th grand prix, the second-longest wait for a maiden Formula 1 pole. Only Sergio Perez waited longer, taking his first pole at his 215th race in Saudi Arabia in 2022. Gasly’s only Formula 1 victory also came at Monza, in 2020.

Alpine had shown competitive straight-line speed through the weekend, aided by a low-downforce aerodynamic approach and its Mercedes engine. Gasly topped the first part of qualifying, placed fourth in the second segment and was third after the opening runs in Q3 before producing the decisive final effort. He was positioned second-last in the line of cars for that last run, giving him a favorable slipstream.

Russell said his final attempt was complicated when Max Verstappen moved between the two Mercedes cars as the team tried to arrange a tow from Kimi Antonelli. However, Russell also acknowledged that Gasly and Alpine had been quick throughout qualifying. Russell will begin the race 59 points behind championship leader Antonelli.

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton are set to start third and fourth. McLaren driver Oscar Piastri had qualified ahead of them but received a three-place grid penalty for impeding Red Bull’s Liam Lawson. Antonelli is due to start 20th because of a separate grid penalty for exceeding his engine allowance.

The pole follows Alpine’s switch to Mercedes customer engines after Renault ended its Formula 1 engine project. The team also introduced an upgrade at the previous race in the Netherlands. Gasly cautioned that Alpine had not matched the leading teams’ race pace on Friday, leaving the extent of its challenge over a full grand prix uncertain, but its qualifying performance earned the team the best possible starting position at Monza.