Surprise in Qualifying

Pierre Gasly races to pole position at Monza

Pierre Gasly was the fastest in qualifying.(Bild: AP/Luca Bruno)

Alpine driver Pierre Gasly has surprisingly clinched pole position at Monza. Behind the Frenchman, Mercedes driver George Russell and Oscar Piastri in the McLaren will start Sunday’s race from second and third places, respectively.

French driver Pierre Gasly has sensationally clinched pole position for the Formula 1 race at Monza. In a thrilling qualifying session on Saturday, the Alpine driver edged out George Russell (+0.060 sec.) in the Mercedes and will thus start from the front row in Sunday’s Italian Grand Prix. Championship leader Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) qualified seventh but will start from the back of the grid due to an unauthorized engine change.

The starting grid:

“This is unbelievable! I love this track,” Gasly radioed to the pits, overjoyed after securing his first career pole. “I’ve been chasing this pole for nine years.” Six years ago, Gasly—who lives not far from the track in Milan—celebrated his only Grand Prix victory to date in Monza, just as surprisingly, while driving for what was then AlphaTauri. Now, on the anniversary of the death of legend Jochen Rindt—who was killed in a crash at Monza in 1970—he pulled off one of the biggest surprises of the season. “It’s really something special here,” said Gasly, who is currently tenth in the World Championship standings with a sixth-place finish as his best result this year, a short while later.

Gasly also beats Russell at chess
“Wow,” Russell commented on the qualifying result. “Congratulations to Pierre—an incredible performance.” The two had just finished a game of chess 15 minutes before qualifying began, the Mercedes star explained, adding with a laugh: “I even told him then that I’d beat him in qualifying. And now here we are. Now he’s checkmated me again.”

George Russell, Pierre Gasly, and Oscar Piastri (from left to right)(Bild: AFP/ANDREJ ISAKOVIC)

Meanwhile, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff took a swipe at last year’s winner, Max Verstappen. “At the end of the day, Max played it smart. He slowed down significantly and ruined George’s lap,” the Viennese executive told ServusTV. Russell had been far too close to him throughout the entire lap. “In the Parabolica, he had zero downforce—that cost him pole position.”

Ferrari Disappoints
Oscar Piastri (McLaren) finished third, just ahead of the Ferrari duo of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton. The Tifosi’s hopes for a home victory by the Scuderia thus suffered a setback. In the second qualifying session, Leclerc and Hamilton narrowly avoided elimination by just eight and one-thousandth of a second, respectively. Verstappen, meanwhile, will have to settle for sixth on the grid. His Red Bull teammate Liam Lawson, who once again replaced the injured Isack Hadjar, could not get past 14th place. World champion Lando Norris (McLaren), starting ninth, will have to hope for a comeback.

Charles Leclerc (left) and Lewis Hamilton (right)(Bild: AFP/CARL DE SOUZA)

Just like Antonelli at his home race in the “Temple of Speed.” The high-speed circuit certainly offers plenty of opportunities for passing. However, the local hero has only 53 laps to limit the damage in the overall standings. At the halfway point of the season, the 20-year-old holds a 59-point lead over both Russell and Hamilton, while Norris trails by 83 points after winning his last two Grand Prix races in a row.