Monza is once again proving to be a special place for Gasly. The Frenchman claimed his only Grand Prix victory to date at the high-speed circuit in 2020. Six years later, he has now added his first pole position at the same venue. Gasly also lives in Milan and had described the Italian Grand Prix as something of a home race before the weekend.
Gasly builds towards a perfect final lap
There had been little indication on Friday that Alpine would end up with the fastest car over a single qualifying lap. Gasly sat out first practice and finished only 14th in FP2. Even then, however, the Frenchman insisted that the result did not reflect the true potential of the car and that Alpine could be in the fight for Q3. The team’s latest upgrade package had already shown signs of progress at the previous race in Zandvoort.
On Saturday, Gasly went far beyond that prediction. He surprisingly topped Q1, immediately showing that Alpine was far more competitive than expected on Monza’s long straights and under heavy braking. Team-mate Franco Colapinto also reached Q3 and qualified eighth, underlining the strength of Alpine’s overall performance.
Gasly still entered the decisive final segment as something of an outsider. After the opening runs in Q3, Russell led with a 1:21.929 ahead of Piastri, with Gasly sitting third. The Alpine driver needed to find several tenths on his final attempt.
Slipstreaming, always a key factor at Monza, also played an important role. Russell received assistance from Mercedes team-mate Kimi Antonelli on the long straights. Gasly, meanwhile, picked up a useful tow from Lewis Hamilton and then put together an almost flawless lap. His 1:21.786 was enough to make the decisive improvement and knock Russell off provisional pole in the closing seconds.
The result gives Gasly not only the first pole of his Formula 1 career, but also Alpine’s first under its current name. For the Enstone-based team, it is the first pole position since 2009. On the same circuit where Gasly achieved the greatest result of his career so far, he has now added another major milestone.
Ferrari miss out on home pole
For Ferrari, qualifying ended on a somewhat disappointing note. After strong practice sessions, the Tifosi had every reason to hope for pole position. Leclerc led a Ferrari one-two in first practice on Friday, while Hamilton had previously described taking pole at the team’s home race as his ultimate dream.
Ferrari came under considerable pressure as early as Q2. Hamilton only scraped into the top ten by one thousandth of a second ahead of Gabriel Bortoleto, while Leclerc progressed in ninth. Both drivers therefore had to wait until the very end of the session to be sure of reaching Q3.
They improved in the final segment, but pole remained out of reach. Leclerc set a 1:22.004 to take fourth, with Hamilton just seven thousandths behind in fifth. Given how difficult Q2 had been, the result represented a clear step forward, but the hoped-for home pole never materialised.
Ferrari nevertheless remain within striking distance for Sunday, even if the front row at their home Grand Prix slipped away.
Mercedes teamwork, McLaren brake issues
Russell remains in an excellent position despite narrowly missing pole. The Briton had topped both second and third practice and starts alongside Gasly on the front row, just 0.060 seconds off the Alpine.
Mercedes deliberately made use of Antonelli’s situation. The championship leader already knew before qualifying that a full power-unit change would send him to the back of the grid. He therefore partly worked in support of Russell, giving his team-mate a tow. Antonelli himself qualified seventh but cannot keep that starting position because of the penalty.
McLaren endured a more difficult afternoon. Piastri still secured third, but both he and Lando Norris struggled under braking. On his final Q3 attempt, the Australian locked up into the first chicane and lost the chance to improve. Norris could do no better than ninth.
Piastri had already caused frustration for Liam Lawson in Q2. The McLaren driver slowed before the first chicane and then ended up in the way of the New Zealander, who was on a flying lap. Lawson was eliminated in 14th, and the stewards reviewed the incident after qualifying.
Max Verstappen had to settle for sixth. The Red Bull driver had already complained about problems at the rear of the car in Q2. Although he was able to continue, he lacked the necessary confidence in the final segment and ended qualifying 0.284 seconds behind Gasly with a 1:22.070.
Gasly becomes a factor in the title fight
Gasly’s pole also adds another layer of intrigue to Sunday’s race. The Alpine driver himself is not involved in the championship battle with 35 points, but he starts directly ahead of several drivers for whom every point at Monza could prove important.
Antonelli leads the championship with 242 points, while Russell and Hamilton are tied on 183. With the Italian forced to start from the back of the grid, his pursuers have a major opportunity. Russell starts from the front row, Piastri follows in third and the two Ferraris line up directly behind.
Starting grid for the Italian Grand Prix
The provisional starting order is:
P1 – Pierre Gasly (Alpine)
P2 – George Russell (Mercedes)
P3 – Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
P4 – Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
P5 – Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari)
P6 – Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
P7 – Franco Colapinto (Alpine)
P8 – Lando Norris (McLaren)
P9 – Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls)
P10 – Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi)
P11 – Oliver Bearman (Haas)
P12 – Nico Hülkenberg (Audi)
P13 – Carlos Sainz (Williams)
P14 – Esteban Ocon (Haas)
P15 – Yuki Tsunoda (Racing Bulls)
P16 – Valtteri Bottas (Cadillac)
P17 – Sergio Pérez (Cadillac)
P18 – Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)
P19 – Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)
P20 – Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes)
P21 – Liam Lawson (Red Bull)
P22 – Alexander Albon (Williams)
