Pierre Gasly delivered a stunning display of speed and composure to capture his inaugural Formula One pole position at the Italian Grand Prix, surprising the usual front‑runners and giving Alpine its first pole in the sport's history. The French driver, who had just seen his Monaco podium stripped away by a court decision, turned the tables at Monza by staying patient throughout the qualifying session and unleashing a perfect lap on his final attempt. Going into the last segment of Q3, Gasly sat third on the leaderboard, trailing provisional pole‑sitter George Russell.
Rather than rush, he conserved his best tyre set and waited for the optimal moment. When the track was at its fastest, he completed a lap of 1:21.786, edging out Russell by 0.060 seconds and claiming the top spot for the first time in his 190‑race career.
This achievement comes six years after his sole Grand Prix victory, also at Monza, which he secured under unlikely circumstances while driving for AlphaTauri. The pole is a landmark for Alpine, marking the first time the Enstone‑based, Renault‑owned outfit has led a Formula One qualifying session since the team’s predecessor earned a pole in 2009. It also makes Gasly the first French driver to start from pole since Jean‑Alesi’s Benetton performance at Monza in 1997. Russell, who had a "messy" start to his final flying lap after being held up by Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, fell just short of the top spot.
Nevertheless, he will line up alongside Gasly on the front row, while his teammate Kimi Antonelli, who assisted Russell with a tow during qualifying, will be relegated to the back of the grid due to an engine‑change penalty. Antonelli’s qualifying effort had placed him seventh before the penalty was applied.
McLaren’s Oscar Piastri originally qualified third but received a three‑place grid drop for impeding Red Bull’s Liam Lawson in Q2. As a result, Piastri will start sixth, promoting Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton to the third and fourth positions, respectively, with Verstappen moving into fifth. Both Ferraris will occupy the second row despite a challenging qualifying session that saw their expected pole‑pacing evaporate. The final top ten after penalties reads: 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, managed only ninth in qualifying after losing a tow on his final lap due to a mistake by Piastri at the first chicane. He will start eighth thanks to Antonelli’s penalty. Franco Colapinto, Gasly’s Alpine teammate, moves up to seventh, while Racing Bulls’ Arvid Lindblad claims ninth.
Gabriel Bortoleto of Audi rounds out the top ten after a razor‑thin margin of 0.001 seconds separated him from Hamilton in Q2. The weekend had been a roller‑coaster for Gasly and Alpine. Earlier on Friday, the FIA’s International Court of Appeal reinstated a pit‑lane speeding penalty from the Monaco race, demoting Gasly from third to seventh in that event’s results – a decision that was applied for the second time.
Overcoming that disappointment, the Frenchman and his team produced a performance that seemed improbable just days earlier. Alpine’s 2026 campaign has shown a marked improvement over the dismal 2025 season, when the team finished at the bottom of the constructors’ standings. Yet, until this Saturday, the team had never started a race higher than seventh on the grid.
In the final practice session, Gasly was ninth fastest, a full 0.6 seconds off Russell’s benchmark. However, adjustments to the rear‑wing configuration for Monza’s high‑speed layout transformed the Alpine A526 into a genuine pole contender in qualifying. Gasly led the first qualifying segment (Q1) and continued to impress in Q2, posting the fourth‑fastest time and staying ahead of the pole favourite, Russell. In the early stages of Q3, Russell posted the quickest lap, but Gasly remained within striking distance, only 0.072 seconds behind in third place.
The decisive moment arrived on Gasly’s final run. While Piastri compromised his own pole chance by locking the brakes into the first chicane, and Russell’s warm‑up lap was disrupted, Gasly seized the opportunity, delivering a flawless lap that propelled him into the pole position. The Alpine garage erupted in celebration, with Gasly exclaiming over the team radio, "Yessssss! Let's go.
I've been waiting for that one!" In his post‑qualifying interview, Gasly reflected on the emotional significance of the achievement: "From the first lap in Q1 I felt very good in the car. I tried to chip away a little bit, every single 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 got my first pole at this track.
It's something special around here." George Russell offered his congratulations, noting a light‑hearted pre‑qualifying chess match in which Gasly had bested him: "Massive congrats to Pierre. That's an incredible performance. We were finishing a game of chess about 15 minutes before qualifying and he beat me there and I went 'well, I think I will beat you in qualifying' and here we are, he's ahead of me again! Huge congrats to him.
I was disappointed to not get pole position. 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 pole position not only adds a historic footnote to Gasly’s career but also injects fresh excitement into the championship battle as the season heads into its final stages.
With the race scheduled for Sunday at 2 pm on Sky Sports F1, fans can look forward to a thrilling showdown at Ferrari’s home circuit, where the Alpine duo will aim to convert their newfound speed into a podium finish, while the rest of the grid prepares for a high‑octane sprint to the chequered flag.