Gasly stuns Monza again with first-ever pole position

MONZA, Italy (AP):

Alpine’s Pierre Gasly secured the first pole position of his Formula One career after producing a stunning display in qualifying for the Italian Grand Prix yesterday.

The French driver appeared as surprised as anyone when he was informed over team radio that he had set the fastest time at the end of the session.

“Let’s go! Been waiting for that one!” exclaimed Gasly, who claimed his only Formula One victory at Monza in 2020.

Gasly looked strong throughout qualifying and finished 0.060 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 the drivers surprised to see Gasly top 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.

Hamilton survives Q2 scare

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 pair, who have an upgraded engine package this weekend, locking out the second row. Ferrari also endured an anxious moment earlier in qualifying, with Hamilton squeezing into Q3 by just one-thousandth of a second.

Lawson’s teammate Max Verstappen moved up one position to fifth.

Championship leader Kimi Antonelli qualified seventh fastest, but a grid penalty resulting from a planned engine change means he will start from the back of the grid.

Gasly’s teammate Franco Colapinto moves up to seventh, while defending champion Lando Norris, Arvid Lindblad and Gabriel Bortoleto complete the top 10.

Antonelli is bidding to become Formula One’s youngest champion. The 20-year-old Italian leads Russell and Hamilton by 59 points, with Norris a further 24 points behind after winning the previous two races in Hungary and the Netherlands.

Sunday’s race presents Russell with an opportunity to close the gap on Antonelli, who spent much of qualifying running ahead of his teammate to provide a slipstream.

Russell described qualifying as “scrappy” and said he began his final lap too close to Verstappen, who allowed Antonelli through to avoid running in clean air.

Russell also revealed that it was the second time he had lost to Gasly on Saturday.

“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 position came a day after he was stripped of his only podium finish of the season when the FIA’s International Court of Appeal reinstated a penalty he received at the Monaco Grand Prix in June.

Monza’s high-speed layout traditionally creates overtaking opportunities, giving Russell a chance to challenge Gasly in Sunday’s race and Antonelli an opportunity to recover through the field.

“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.