Pierre Gasly delivered a stunning performance at the Italian Grand Prix, securing his maiden pole position in Formula 1 and catching the sport’s usual front‑runners off guard. The Alpine driver, who had just seen his podium finish from the Monaco Grand Prix stripped away for a second time following a court decision, turned the tables at Monza by posting the fastest time in a dramatic final lap. Entering the last segment of Q3, Gasly was sitting third on the board, but he held his best lap in reserve. When the opportunity arose, he unleashed a blistering lap of 1:21.786, edging out provisional pole‑sitter George Russell by a razor‑thin 0.060 seconds.
The Frenchman’s achievement came in his 190th Grand Prix start, exactly six years after his only career victory – also at Monza – which had come under equally improbable circumstances while he was driving for AlphaTauri. This pole is historic on several fronts. It marks the first ever pole for the Alpine brand in Formula 1 and the first for the Enstone‑based, Renault‑owned outfit since 2009. It also makes Gasly the first French driver to stand atop the grid since Jean Alesi’s pole for Benetton at Monza in 1997.
Russell, who had led the session early on, was left to rue a “messy” start to his final lap after being held up by Red Bull’s Max Verstappen. Despite missing out on pole, the Mercedes driver will still line up second on the front row. His teammate, Kimi Antonelli, will start from the back of the grid after serving an engine‑change penalty, even though he had helped Russell with a tow during qualifying and had qualified seventh before the penalty was applied.
McLaren’s Oscar Piastri, who initially qualified third, received a three‑place grid drop for impeding Red Bull’s Liam Lawson in Q2. As a result, Piastri will start from sixth, promoting Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton to the third and fourth slots, with Verstappen moving into fifth.
Both Ferraris will occupy the second row despite a relatively modest qualifying session that saw their expected pole‑pacing never fully materialise. In fact, the Scuderia’s fortunes were almost jeopardised when Audi’s Gabriel Bortoleto edged Hamilton by a mere 0.001 seconds to claim the tenth‑fastest time in Q2, leaving Leclerc in ninth.
The provisional top‑ten after penalties were applied looked like this: 1) Pierre Gasly (Alpine), 2) George Russell (Mercedes), 3) Oscar Piastri (McLaren, –3), 4) Charles Leclerc (Ferrari), 5) Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari), 6) Max Verstappen (Red Bull), 7) Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes, engine penalty), 8) Franco Colapinto (Alpine), 9) Lando Norris (McLaren), 10) Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls). Lando Norris, the reigning champion, qualified only ninth after losing a tow on his final lap when Piastri made an error at the first chicane.
He will start eighth thanks to Antonelli’s penalty. With the championship leader now starting from the back, Alpine’s second driver Franco Colapinto moves up to seventh, followed by Norris in eighth and Racing Bulls’ Arvid Lindblad in ninth, while Bortoleto rounds out the top ten. The road to this pole was not without drama. Earlier in the weekend, the FIA’s International Court of Appeal reinstated the pit‑lane speeding penalties that had been applied to Gasly’s Monaco result, demoting his June podium finish from third to seventh for the second time.
Many observers thought Alpine’s chances of a dramatic rebound were slim. Yet the French team has turned a corner compared with a dismal 2025 season that saw them finish at the bottom of the standings, and Saturday’s qualifying marked the first time they had ever started a race higher than seventh on the grid.
Gasly’s pace in the earlier practice sessions hinted at potential. He was ninth fastest in the final practice, just 0.6 seconds off Russell’s benchmark, but the Alpine A526, powered by a Mercedes engine, appeared to have found a sweet spot on Monza’s ultra‑fast layout.
By trimming the rear‑wing levels, the team gave the car the low‑drag configuration needed for the high‑speed circuit. Gasly topped the first qualifying segment (Q1) and then posted a solid fourth‑fastest time in Q2, staying ahead of the pole favourite Russell.
In Q3, the drama intensified. Russell set the early benchmark, but Gasly stayed within striking distance, clocking a time only 0.072 seconds slower. The final run proved decisive: while Piastri lost his chance by locking up at the first chicane and Russell’s warm‑up lap was compromised, Gasly seized the moment, delivering a flawless lap that vaulted him into the top spot.
The Alpine garage erupted in celebration as soon as the timing screens confirmed the pole. An elated Gasly could be heard on the team radio shouting, “Yessssss! Let’s go.
I’ve been waiting for that one!” In his post‑qualifying interview, he reflected on the achievement: “From the first lap in Q1 I felt very good in the car. I tried to chip away a little bit in every session, and it felt like a very good lap. It’s been nine years trying to chase the opportunity to get a pole. I won my first race in Monza and now I’ve got my first pole at this track.
It’s something special around here.” Russell also paid tribute, recalling a friendly chess match they had played just before qualifying. “Massive congrats to Pierre. That’s an incredible performance,” he said.
“We were finishing a game of chess about 15 minutes before qualifying and he beat me there and I thought, ‘well, I’ll beat you in qualifying.’ And here we are, he’s ahead of me again! Huge congrats to him. I was disappointed not to get pole.
It was a bit messy with Verstappen opening the lap, I did the lap very close, but Pierre and Alpine have been super fast.” The weekend schedule includes support races such as the F3 Feature Race at 7:10 am, the F2 Feature Race at 8:40 am, and the Porsche Supercup at 10:40 am, followed by the main Grand Prix action at 2 pm on Sky Sports F1. Viewers can stream the coverage via NOW without a long‑term contract, cancel anytime.