Pierre Gasly Takes First Career Formula 1 Pole at Monza for Alpine Ahead of George Russell

Gasly takes maiden pole in Monza upset

Pierre Gasly secured his first career Formula 1 pole position at the Italian Grand Prix in his 190th race entry since joining the sport in 2017. Driving for Alpine at the 5,793-metre Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, the 30-year-old French driver recorded a flying lap on soft tyres in 1 minute, 21.786 seconds during the final qualifying session. Gasly edged Mercedes competitor George Russell by 0.060 seconds and finished 0.180 seconds clear of McLaren driver Oscar Piastri. The lap represents the first Formula 1 pole position for a French driver since Jean Alesi at the 1997 Italian Grand Prix, surpassing Gasly's previous career-best starting spot of second place across his tenures with Toro Rosso, Red Bull, AlphaTauri, and Alpine.

Gasly reflected on the achievement following the conclusion of qualifying.

It has been incredible, I felt good from the first moment and tried to improve in every session. I have spent nine years trying to get that pole. It is incredible.

Qualifying progression across three phases

The qualifying session for round 13 of the World Championship progressed through three knockout segments on Saturday. Gasly led the initial Q1 stage with the fastest time, leading Max Verstappen by 0.019 seconds and Lando Norris by 0.047 seconds. In the second round, Piastri recorded the fastest time at 1:22.017, finishing 0.050 seconds ahead of Norris, while Gasly advanced in fourth place behind Andrea Kimi Antonelli. During the opening runs of Q3, Russell posted a 1:21.929 lap to take provisional pole. The session concluded when Piastri missed a braking point, leaving Norris without aerodynamic assistance, which allowed Gasly to extract the winning lap on his final attempt.

Aerodynamic setup and rival reactions

Alpine developed a low-drag aerodynamic configuration for the Italian weekend, trading cornering downforce for top speed along Monza's long straights. The team entered the event ranked sixth in the constructors' standings, with Gasly placed tenth in the drivers' championship, operating under guidance from executive advisor Flavio Briatore. Following the session, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff credited Alpine's straight-line pace for Russell missing pole position by 60 milliseconds.

They have done a great job, their car has no drag on the straight, it is a rocket.

Penalties and revised starting grid

Ferrari drivers Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton completed the top five in fourth and fifth positions, with Verstappen taking sixth for Red Bull. Championship leader Antonelli qualified seventh for Mercedes but received a grid penalty for exceeding the permitted limit of power unit changes, relegating him to the back of the grid. That penalty promoted Alpine teammate Franco Colapinto to seventh on Sunday's grid after the Argentine driver finished 0.434 seconds off Gasly. Norris lines up in eighth position, with Racing Bulls driver Arvid Lindblad in ninth.

Early eliminations for Williams and Aston Martin

Both Spanish drivers suffered early eliminations amid straight-line speed deficits. Carlos Sainz finished 15th for Williams in Q2, trailing the Audi entries of Gabriel Bortoleto and Nico Hülkenberg, though grid adjustments will place him 14th for Sunday's race. Fernando Alonso qualified 21st in Q1 for Aston Martin, more than 2.5 seconds off the top straight-line speed set in earlier practice sessions due to power constraints from the Honda engine package.

There are no strong points, only weaknesses.

Alonso also expressed low expectations regarding his car's competitiveness at low-downforce circuits.

Maybe I am very pessimistic, but Monza will be together with Las Vegas our worst circuit.