MONZA, Italy (AP) — Alpine's Pierre Gasly claimed his first-ever pole position in qualifying for the Italian Grand Prix on Saturday.
The F1 driver seemed as surprised as everyone when he was informed on the team radio that he was fastest immediately after the session.
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“Let’s go! Been waiting for that one!” exclaimed Gasly, who took his only Formula 1 win at Monza in 2020.
Gasly looked strong throughout the session and finished O.060 seconds ahead of Mercedes driver George Russell.
“In the end it felt like a very good lap but I am so happy, it has been nine years, trying to chase and get the opportunity to get pole position," said Gasly, who lives in nearby Milan. "To win my first race in Monza, get my first pole position on this track, it is something special around here.”
Russell was among drivers to express surprise at Gasly topping the timesheets.
“To be totally honest I don’t think we thought they were in the fight and it goes to show what a great job he did,” Russell said.
Oscar Piastri was third-fastest in qualifying but was handed a three-place grid penalty after stewards found the McLaren driver guilty of impeding Red Bull's Liam Lawson in Q2.
That promoted Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton, with the Ferrari duo — who have an upgraded engine this weekend — locking out the second row. There was a scare for the team earlier in its home race as Hamilton only just sneaked into Q3 by one thousandth of a second.
Lawson's teammate Max Verstappen also moved up a place, to fifth. Championship leader Kimi Antonelli qualified seventh-fastest but a grid penalty due to a planned engine change means he will start at the back.
Gasly's teammate Franco Colapinto moves up to seventh, with defending champion Lando Norris, Arvid Lindblad and Gabriel Bortoleto now rounding out the top 10 on the grid.
Antonelli is bidding to become F1’s youngest champion. The 20-year-old Italian leads Russell and Hamilton by 59 points, with Norris 24 points further back after winning the past two races — in Hungary and the Netherlands.
Sunday's race is a golden opportunity for Russell to make up some ground on Antonelli, who was deployed for much of qualifying ahead of his teammate to give him a slipstream.
Russell called qualifying “scrappy" and said he started his final lap too close to Verstappen, who let Antonelli by to avoid running in clean air.
Russell also revealed that it was the second time he had lost to Gasly on Saturday afternoon.
“Massive congrats to Pierre because that’s an incredible performance," Russell said. “We were actually playing a game of chess about 15 minutes before qualifying and 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.”
Gasly’s pole comes a day after he was stripped of his only podium of the season because the FIA’s International Court of Appeal reinstated a penalty he was given at the Monaco Grand Prix in June.
Monza is a high-speed track and overtaking is relatively easy, giving Russell a chance to get past Gasly in Sunday's race and Antonelli the opportunity to make up places.
"That's a problem for tomorrow," Gasly replied when asked if his car's long-run pace is enough to at least fight for the win.
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