Pierre Gasly Claims Historic Pole Position at Monza
Pierre Gasly has waited nine long years for this. When it finally came, it arrived at the scene of his greatest triumph.
On a charged Saturday at Monza, the Frenchman delivered the lap of his life to take a first career pole position for Sunday’s Italian Grand Prix, writing his name into Formula 1’s history books at the same cathedral of speed where he claimed that unforgettable maiden win in 2020.
Gasly’s late strike at the Temple of Speed
With two minutes left in Q3, the session felt momentarily frozen. All 10 remaining drivers sat in their garages, tyres cooling, nerves sharpening. Gasly was only third. The lap times said he was close; the body language in the Alpine garage said this was his chance.
The final runs began. George Russell struck first, pounding in a 1:21.846 to snatch provisional pole for Mercedes. It looked strong. It looked decisive.
Then came Gasly.
Last across the line after the clock hit zero, he threaded the Alpine through Monza’s chicanes with a clarity that had been building all afternoon. When he flashed past the chequered flag, the timing screens told the story: 1:21.786. Pole by six hundredths of a second.
The radio erupted.
"Let's go! I've been waiting for that one!" he shouted, the release of nearly a decade of near-misses and almosts pouring through the team radio.
As he rolled into parc fermé, Charles Leclerc – fourth fastest on the day – walked over, offered a handshake, and a nod of recognition. Gasly climbed out, raised a fist to the grandstands and to a team that has ridden out a turbulent season with him.
"It was amazing. Thank you everyone. It was an incredible quali," he said moments later. "From the first lap in Q1, I felt very good in the car. Trying to chip a little bit away every single session and then, yeah, in the end, it felt like a very good lap.
"But I'm so happy. It's been nine years trying to chase and get the opportunity to get a pole position. Win my first race in Monza, get my first pole position on this track I think is something special."
Special barely covers it.
Russell beaten on track – and on the board
Russell will line up alongside Gasly on the front row, but his day came with a sting. He had already been outmanoeuvred by the Frenchman once before they even climbed into their cars.
The pair spent the build-up to qualifying locked over a chessboard. Russell thought he’d get his revenge when the helmets went on.
"He beat me there, and I thought, 'Well, I think I'll beat you in qualifying' and here we are. He's ahead of me again," the Mercedes driver said with a rueful laugh. "So huge congrats to him."
Behind them, the grid tells its own story of opportunity and punishment.
Oscar Piastri put his McLaren third on raw pace, but a penalty for impeding drops him to sixth for the start. That promotes others into striking range and reshapes the battle behind the front row.
Championship leader Kimi Antonelli, also in a Mercedes, endured a complicated afternoon. He qualified only seventh and will not even take his place on the grid, instead starting from the pit lane after an engine penalty. That shuffle moves Franco Colapinto, Gasly’s Alpine teammate, into seventh, with Lando Norris – winner of the last two races – right behind him in eighth for McLaren.
The slipstream games at Monza are always ruthless. On Sunday, they could be decisive.
A pole won in the shadow of a lost podium
Gasly’s pole comes with a jagged edge of context. Just 24 hours earlier, he had been stripped of a cherished Monaco podium that he thought had been saved.
Back in May, he crossed the line third in the principality, only to be hit with two 10-second penalties for speeding in the pit lane almost immediately after the podium ceremony. Those penalties dropped him to seventh and promoted Red Bull Racing’s Isack Hadjar to third.
Alpine refused to accept that quietly. The team requested a review, argued their case, and won. Gasly’s third place was reinstated, his Monaco podium seemingly restored.
Red Bull Racing and McLaren then launched their own petitions to have the original penalties brought back. They succeeded. Gasly was pushed down again, his podium erased for a second time.
For many drivers, that kind of emotional whiplash would linger. Gasly instead walked into Monza, strapped into the Alpine, and produced one of the most complete qualifying performances of his career.
A long road from Toro Rosso to Alpine
This pole is not an overnight success story. It’s the latest chapter in a career that has swung between promise and pressure.
Gasly made his Formula 1 debut in 2017 at the Malaysian Grand Prix, stepping in for Daniil Kvyat at Toro Rosso – the team that would become AlphaTauri and is now Racing Bulls. He has lived through promotions, demotions, and rebuilds, yet kept chiselling away at the sport’s elite.
He has raced in Alpine colours since 2023, signing a contract extension last year that ties him to the French outfit through 2028. The message was clear: Alpine sees him as a pillar for the long term.
His results back that up. Gasly owns five F1 podiums, including that famous 2020 Italian Grand Prix win for AlphaTauri, still his only victory in the sport. He finished second at the 2019 Brazil Grand Prix with Toro Rosso, then added third places at the 2021 Azerbaijan Grand Prix and the 2023 Dutch Grand Prix with AlphaTauri and Alpine respectively, before another third at the 2024 São Paulo Grand Prix.
Now comes something new for the collection: pole at Monza, in Alpine blue.
The win he craves remains just out of reach. On Sunday, at the track that already defines his career, he has the clean air and the starting position to change that.
