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Gasly Takes Surprise Pole at Monza Amidst Grid Penalties
Monza has seen its share of shocks, but this one jolted the paddock. Pierre Gasly, in an Alpine that was nowhere near the bookmakers’ favourites, beat George Russell’s Mercedes and the rest of Formula 1’s heavy hitters to pole position for the Italian Grand Prix.
On a circuit built for horsepower and low drag, the blue car on top of the timesheets told its own story. Alpine nailed it when it mattered, and Gasly delivered a lap that silenced the usual Monza script of Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull trading blows for the front row.
Russell will start alongside him, the Mercedes driver missing out on pole but still well placed to attack into the ferocious braking zone at Turn 1. Behind them, the tifosi will pin their hopes on a scarlet second row: Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton line up third and fourth for Ferrari, with Max Verstappen’s Red Bull only fifth after qualifying.
But qualifying times were only half the drama. The grid that emerged from Q3 did not survive the stewards’ room.
Oscar Piastri had originally put his McLaren third on the grid, only to be hit with a three-place penalty for impeding Liam Lawson in Q2. That ruling dropped him to sixth and promoted Leclerc, Hamilton and Verstappen each one spot up the order. For Ferrari, it turned a solid result into a genuine launchpad in front of their home crowd.
Behind the established stars, the midfield story has its own sharp edge. Franco Colapinto starts seventh in the second Alpine, underlining the team’s sudden surge at Monza. Lando Norris, usually McLaren’s lead light, will go from eighth, while highly rated rookie Arvid Lindblad lines up ninth for Racing Bulls, with Gabriel Bortoleto’s Audi completing the top 10.
The stewards’ paperwork didn’t stop with Piastri. Three separate grid penalties for engine component changes reshuffled the back end of the field. Kimi Antonelli, Alex Albon and Lawson all took hits for exceeding their allocation of power unit parts, dropping them to the final three spots.
That leaves Ollie Bearman in 11th for Haas, just ahead of Nico Hulkenberg’s Audi in 12th. Carlos Sainz, now in Williams colours, starts 13th, with Esteban Ocon in the second Haas in 14th and Yuki Tsunoda’s Racing Bulls in 15th.
Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez share row nine in the pair of Cadillacs, 16th and 17th respectively, while Aston Martin endure a bruising Saturday: Fernando Alonso starts 18th, Lance Stroll 19th.
Then come the penalised trio: Antonelli in the Mercedes, Albon in the Williams and Lawson in the Red Bull, all shuffled to the back despite their on-track efforts.
Finalised Italian GP Starting Grid
- Pierre Gasly (Alpine)
- George Russell (Mercedes)
- Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
- Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari)
- Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
- Oscar Piastri (McLaren)*
- Franco Colapinto (Alpine)
- Lando Norris (McLaren)
- Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls)
- Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi)
- Ollie Bearman (Haas)
- Nico Hulkenberg (Audi)
- Carlos Sainz (Williams)
- Esteban Ocon (Haas)
- Yuki Tsunoda (Racing Bulls)
- Valtteri Bottas (Cadillac)
- Sergio Perez (Cadillac)
- Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)
- Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)
- Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes)**
- Alex Albon (Williams)**
- Liam Lawson (Red Bull)**
An Alpine on pole, Ferrari poised just behind, Verstappen lurking in fifth and proven race winners marooned in traffic: Monza has its chaos grid. Now the question is simple—who survives the slipstream storm into Turn 1?
