Full story
Gasly shocks Monza pole
Pierre Gasly claimed shock first pole position at Monza for Alpine, beating George Russell and Oscar Piastri after a final lap of 1:21.786.
“took the coveted top spot with a surging final lap of 1:21.786”
Sky Sports said Gasly “took the coveted top spot with a surging final lap of 1:21.786,” while Motorsport France reported “la pole position du Grand Prix d'Italie 2026 de Formule 1 a été signée” by Gasly in an Alpine that surprised Russell.
The qualifying result placed Gasly ahead of Russell by 0.060 seconds, and TyC Sports listed Russell second at 1:21.846 with Piastri third at 1:21.966.
Multiple outlets tied the upset to Monza’s high-speed conditions and the way Alpine’s pace arrived late in qualifying, including CANAL+ noting Gasly “takes pole position at Monza” in the “Temple of Speed.”
Russell, Verstappen, chess
Russell said the pole was decided by a “messy” final run, telling Sky Sports F1: “It was a bit messy with Verstappen opening the lap, I did the lap very close.”
Toto Wolff, speaking to Sky Sports F1, argued Russell was “done over by Max” Verstappen, saying the Mercedes was “much too close” behind the Red Bull to execute the lap properly.
The chess duel between the drivers became part of the story, with ESPN reporting Russell revealed he had lost to Gasly in a game of online chess shortly before qualifying.
Gasly also described the chess exchange, telling The Straits Times: “We were actually finishing a game of chess about 15 minutes before qualifying, and he beat me there.”
Grid penalties shape race
The Monza grid for Sunday’s Italian Grand Prix was reshaped by penalties, including a three-place grid penalty for Oscar Piastri after blocking Liam Lawson in Q2, with Sky Sports saying Piastri “was handed a three-place grid penalty after the session.”
“was handed a three-place grid penalty after the session”
Kimi Antonelli’s engine-change penalties also pushed him to the back, and TyC Sports quoted the FIA statement: “Kimi Antonelli will receive a grid penalty for the Italian Grand Prix due to a planned engine change.”
With Gasly on pole, Sky Sports said Verstappen qualified fifth and that Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton were promoted to third and fourth respectively, while Norris started ninth.
CANAL+ added that Ferrari advanced to Q3 “by a thousandth of a second” and that Esteban Ocon qualified 16th in an asthmatic Haas, with the race outcome now set to be influenced by who can convert the qualifying shake-up into points.