Pierre Gasly takes Italian GP pole for Alpine, beating George Russell by 0.060s at Monza

Breakthrough pole for Gasly

Alpine driver Pierre Gasly secured pole position for the Italian Grand Prix on Saturday at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza, recording the first pole of his Formula 1 career in his 189th Grand Prix start. The 30-year-old French driver, who resides in nearby Milan, became the first Frenchman to take pole position in Formula 1 since Jean Alesi drove for Benetton at Monza in 1997. The result followed Gasly's previous success at the circuit, where he claimed his only Formula 1 victory in 2020 while driving for AlphaTauri. After completing his final lap, Gasly stated that he shouted over the radio and felt proud to have seized the opportunity.

Gasly described his reaction following the qualifying session.

It's fantastic, qualifying was incredible. From the start I felt very good in the car and I really put together a very good lap. I had been trying to get pole for nine years. It's an incredible feeling, I am extremely happy.

Qualifying progression and time gaps

Gasly opened the afternoon by setting the fastest lap time in Q1 before placing fourth in Q2. In the decisive Q3 session, Gasly used a slipstream tow provided by his Alpine teammate Franco Colapinto to secure the fastest lap. Gasly finished 0.060 seconds ahead of Mercedes driver George Russell and 0.180 seconds ahead of McLaren's Oscar Piastri. Ferrari's Charles Leclerc posted the fourth-fastest time, finishing 0.218 seconds behind Gasly.

Colapinto placed seventh in qualifying, continuing Alpine's recovery after the team lost momentum before the summer break and regained competitiveness at the Dutch Grand Prix two weeks earlier.

Stewards penalties alter the starting grid

Multiple post-session penalties altered the confirmed starting order for Sunday's race. Piastri received a three-place grid penalty for impeding Red Bull's Liam Lawson at turn one during Q1, demoting the Australian driver from third to sixth. The penalty elevated Leclerc to third and seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton to fourth on the second row for Ferrari, directly ahead of Red Bull's Max Verstappen in fifth.

Gasly commented on his connection to the Monza circuit.

I won my first race at Monza and now I take my first pole position here, there really is something special here.

Championship leader Andrea Kimi Antonelli clocked the seventh-fastest time in qualifying, 0.307 seconds off pole, but was relegated to 20th position after Mercedes exceeded its season engine allocation. Lawson and Williams driver Alexander Albon received identical engine penalties, dropping them to 21st and 22nd on the eleventh row. Behind Colapinto, Lando Norris will start eighth for McLaren, with Arvid Lindblad ninth for Racing Bulls and Gabriel Bortoleto tenth for Audi. Further back, Oliver Bearman and Nico Hülkenberg share the sixth row in 11th and 12th, while Carlos Sainz Jr and Esteban Ocon occupy the seventh row.

Championship stakes at Monza

The shuffled starting grid affects the drivers' world championship standings. Antonelli, who has secured six victories in his second Formula 1 season, leads the championship by 59 points over Russell and Hamilton, who are tied for second. With Russell starting on the front row and Antonelli starting 20th, Russell has an opportunity to narrow the points gap during the 53-lap race on Sunday.