Pierre Gasly delivered a stunning performance at the Italian Grand Prix, securing his maiden pole position in Formula One and turning the usual front‑running order on its head. 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, emerged as a genuine threat during qualifying at the high‑speed circuit of Monza. Going into the final segment of qualifying, Q3, Gasly was sitting third on the leaderboard.
Rather than trying to set his fastest time early, he held back, preserving his best lap for the very last run. When the opportunity arrived, he unleashed a blistering lap of 1:21.786, overtaking provisional pole‑sitter George Russell by a razor‑thin margin of 0.060 seconds.
The result marked a historic moment for both the driver and his team: it was Gasly’s first pole in his 190th Grand Prix start and the first pole ever for the Alpine brand, which traces its heritage back to the Renault‑owned Enstone outfit that had not tasted a front‑row start since 2009. The significance of the achievement is amplified by the context of Gasly’s career. Six years earlier, he captured his only race win at the same venue, Monza, under similarly unlikely circumstances while driving for AlphaTauri.
That victory, achieved on the famed "Temple of Speed," now bookends his pole‑position triumph, underscoring his affinity for the circuit. While Russell missed out on the top spot, he still secured a front‑row start in second place. The British driver’s final lap was hampered by a "messy" start behind Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, which cost him a few tenths of a second.
Nevertheless, he will line up alongside his teammate Kimi Antonelli, who, due to an engine‑change penalty, will be relegated to the back of the grid despite qualifying seventh. Antonelli had assisted Russell with a tow during the session and was fully aware that his penalty would drop him regardless of his qualifying position. McLaren’s Oscar Piastri initially qualified third but incurred a three‑place grid penalty for obstructing Red Bull’s Liam Lawson in Q2.
Consequently, Piastri will start from sixth, promoting Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton to the third and fourth spots, respectively, with Verstappen moving into fifth. Both Ferraris will occupy the second row despite a challenging qualifying day in which their expected pole‑pacing never fully materialised. The team was fortunate to get both cars into the top ten after Audi’s Gabriel Bortoleto edged out Hamilton by a mere 0.001 seconds for tenth place in Q2, while Leclerc had been ninth.
The provisional top ten after penalties were applied looked as follows: 1) Pierre Gasly (Alpine), 2) George Russell (Mercedes), 3) Oscar Piastri (McLaren) – subject to a three‑place drop, 4) Charles Leclerc (Ferrari), 5) Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari), 6) Max Verstappen (Red Bull), 7) Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) – will start from the back, 8) Franco Colapinto (Alpine), 9) Lando Norris (McLaren), 10) Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls). Lando Norris, the reigning champion, qualified only ninth after a series of poles and race wins surrounding the summer break.
He lost a tow on his final lap when Piastri made an error at the first chicane, but he still moved up to eighth thanks to Antonelli’s penalty. With the championship leader forced to the back of the grid, Alpine’s second driver Franco Colapinto will start seventh, followed by Norris in eighth and Racing Bulls’ Arvid Lindblad in ninth, while Bortoleto will occupy the final point‑scoring position. The emotional backdrop to the weekend cannot be overlooked. Earlier on Friday, the FIA’s International Court of Appeal reinstated Gasly’s pit‑lane speeding penalties from the Monaco race, dropping his result from third to seventh for the second time.
That decision could have demoralised the Alpine camp, yet they responded with a performance that seemed almost unimaginable. Alpine’s season this year has improved dramatically compared to their 2025 campaign, when they finished at the bottom of the standings. 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, Alpine appeared to have refined the rear‑wing settings of their Mercedes‑powered A526 chassis for Monza’s unique demands, turning the car into a genuine pole contender in the hands of the French driver. He topped Q1, proved his pace in Q2 by finishing fourth, and remained ahead of the pole favourite Russell. During Q3, Russell initially set the fastest time, but Gasly stayed within striking distance, clocking a lap only 0.072 seconds slower. The decisive moment came when Piastri locked up at the first chicane, ruining his own pole chances, while Russell’s warm‑up lap for his final attempt was compromised.
Seizing the opportunity, Gasly delivered a flawless lap, overtaking both rivals and clinching the pole. The Alpine garage erupted in celebration as Gasly’s pole was confirmed. Over the team radio, an ecstatic Gasly shouted, "Yessssss! Let's go.
I've been waiting for that one!" In his post‑qualifying interview, he reflected on the milestone: "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." Russell also paid tribute, noting that Gasly had beaten him at chess just minutes 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 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." Gasly’s pole marks the first time a French driver has topped a Formula One qualifying session since Jean Alesi’s pole for Benetton at Monza in 1997, linking two generations of French talent at the historic circuit. The race weekend schedule is packed: the F3 Feature Race kicks off at 7:10 am, followed by the F2 Feature Race at 8:40 am, the Porsche Supercup at 10:40 am, and the main Grand Prix action beginning at 2:00 pm on Sky Sports F1. For fans without a contract, the race can be streamed via NOW, with the flexibility to cancel at any time. Overall, Gasly’s pole not only reshapes the competitive landscape for the Italian Grand Prix but also injects fresh excitement into a season that has seen Alpine rise from the back of the pack to genuine front‑row contenders.
The upcoming race promises to be a thrilling showdown, with the Frenchman looking to convert his historic qualifying effort into a strong race result, while his rivals scramble to respond to the unexpected shift in the hierarchy at Monza.