Pierre Gasly produced a remarkable response to the disappointment of losing his Monaco Grand Prix podium by claiming the first Formula One pole position of his career for Alpine at Monza, beating George Russell to top spot with Oscar Piastri third.

“It was amazing! Thank you everyone. An incredible qualifying,” Gasly said.

“From the first lap in Q1, I felt very good in the car. I tried to chip away a little bit, every single session, and it felt like a very good lap.

“It’s been nine years trying to chase the opportunity to get a pole.

“I won my first race in Monza and got my first pole at this track. It’s something special around here.”

Gasly delivered a 1:21.786 to beat Russell by just 0.060 seconds, while Piastri put his McLaren third, 0.180 seconds away from pole. Charles Leclerc was fourth for Ferrari, only 0.007 seconds ahead of team-mate Hamilton in fifth.

It completed a remarkable turnaround in fortunes for Gasly, just a day after the FIA International Court of Appeal confirmed that the podium he thought he had earned at the Monaco Grand Prix would be taken away.

Gasly crossed the line third in Monaco in June but was handed two five-second penalties for pit-lane speeding, dropping him to seventh. Alpine successfully sought a Right of Review and the stewards subsequently rescinded both penalties, restoring Gasly to third.

However, McLaren and Red Bull appealed that decision to the FIA International Court of Appeal. On Friday, the Court ruled in their favour and reimposed both penalties, returning Gasly to seventh in the Monaco classification and promoting Isack Hadjar to third.

The decision meant Gasly had, for a second time, lost a result that had meant so much to him. After initially being dropped from the Monaco podium in June, the Frenchman described himself as “heartbroken”.

Less than 24 hours later, Gasly had something entirely new to celebrate: the first pole position of his Formula One career, earned by being the fastest driver around Monza on Saturday.

There was an added touch of symmetry in where it happened. Monza was the scene of Gasly’s maiden Formula One victory in 2020 and, six years later, the circuit has now delivered another career first.

Russell, who had looked like a strong contender for pole after topping final practice, was quick to recognise what Gasly had achieved.

“Massive congrats to Pierre. That’s an incredible performance,” Russell said.

“We were finishing a game of chess about 15 minutes before qualifying and he beat me there and I went, ‘Well, I think I will beat you in qualifying,’ and here we are, he’s ahead of me again!

“Huge congrats to him. I was disappointed to not get pole position. It was a bit messy with Verstappen opening the lap, I did the lap very close, but Pierre and Alpine have been super fast.”

Piastri secured third but admitted he did not believe he had the pace to challenge Gasly for pole.

“I don’t think I had the speed to take pole,” Piastri said.

“The first lap felt quite good. I tried to see if anyone wanted to go in front out of the pit lane, but no one did.

“I knew it was always going to be difficult and just misjudged the braking a little bit and locked up.

“That was the session, but good to have a decent result at least. It’s been a little while, so I’ll take it.”

Hamilton survives Q2 scare to take fifth

While Gasly ultimately emerged as the surprise pole-sitter, Sir Lewis Hamilton endured a considerably more nervous route into the final part of qualifying.

The seven-time world champion came within just 0.001 seconds of being eliminated in Q2, narrowly surviving at the expense of Audi’s Gabriel Bortoleto.

Bortoleto was joined on the sidelines by Oliver Bearman, Nico Hulkenberg, Liam Lawson, Carlos Sainz and Esteban Ocon.

Hamilton found more pace when it mattered in Q3, eventually setting a time 0.225 seconds slower than Gasly. He was also separated from Ferrari team-mate Leclerc by only seven thousandths, leaving the pair fourth and fifth for Ferrari’s home Grand Prix.

Max Verstappen could manage only sixth for Red Bull, 0.284 seconds off pole, with Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli seventh. Gasly’s Alpine team-mate Franco Colapinto took eighth, ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris and Racing Bulls’ Arvid Lindblad.

Earlier, Racing Bulls’ Yuki Tsunoda, Williams’ Alex Albon, Cadillac pair Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez, and Aston Martin team-mates Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll were eliminated in Q1.

Full official results: https://www.formula1.com/en/results/2026/races/1293/italy/qualifying