Alpine’s Pierre Gasly has snatched a shock maiden pole position for the 2026 Italian Grand Prix at Monza, Italy.
Having only finished ninth in FP3, Gasly topped Q1 but saved his best for the very end of Q3 to snatch pole position from FP3’s fastest driver – George Russell, as the top ten were split by just 0.500 seconds.
FP3
A quiet start to the session saw Audi’s Gabriel Bortoleto and Nico Hulkenberg do installation laps before pitting.
Alpine’s Franco Colapinto eventually set 1m 26.561 but his teammate, Gasly went 1.212s faster and as others slowly joined the action around 20 minutes into the session, Andrea Kimi Antonelli set 1m 23.032 as the benchmark time on the soft tyre which stood at the halfway mark.
Leclerc meanwhile had his first lap time deleted but found himself 0.239s adrift with a later attempt which wounded up 0.021s slower than his initial lap time, before stewards reinstated his previous lap of 1m 23.250 which cut his deficit to Antonelli to 0.218s.
With 25 minutes left, Russell set 1m 22.687 to go fastest which he subsequently lowered twice to a session-topping 1m 22.219.
| Position | Driver | Team | Time |
| 1 | George Russell | Mercedes | 1m 22.219 |
| 2 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | + 0.226 |
| 3 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | + 0.350 |
| 4 | Andrea Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | + 0.361 |
| 5 | Lando Norris | McLaren | + 0.406 |
| 6 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | + 0.489 |
| 7 | Arvid Lindblad | Racing Bulls | + 0.505 |
| 8 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | + 0.803 |
| 9 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | + 0.877 |
| 10 | Franco Colapinto | Alpine | + 0.882 |
| 11 | Nico Hulkenberg | Audi | + 0.907 |
| 12 | Liam Lawson | Red Bull | + 0.984 |
| 13 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Audi | + 1.079 |
| 14 | Yuki Tsunoda | Racing Bulls | + 1.598 |
| 15 | Carlos Sainz | Williams | + 1.656 |
| 16 | Oliver Bearman | Haas | + 1.728 |
| 17 | Esteban Ocon | Haas | + 1.801 |
| 18 | Alex Albon | Williams | + 2.218 |
| 19 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | + 2.700 |
| 20 | Valtteri Bottas | Cadillac | + 2.785 |
| 21 | Sergio Perez | Cadillac | + 2.812 |
| 22 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | + 3.336 |
Qualifying
Q1
Lawson was first out on track and laid 1m 24.103 as the initial benchmark in the fifth minute, but his teammate – Verstappen quickly laid 1m 22.631 as the benchmark which stood until the ninth minute when Gasly set 1m 22.612 with the slipstream of Colapinto to go top by 0.012s.
The bottom six once everyone set a lap time comprised of; Albon, Ocon, Alonso, Bottas, Perez and Stroll, but Ocon got himself out of the danger zone two minutes later at the expense of Hulkenberg.
As the checkered flag fell, Tsunoda missed out on Q2 to Sainz by 0.139s and qualified 17th ahead of Albon, Bottas, Perez, Alonso and Stroll, although Albon will start at the back as he is one of three drivers who has taken a new power unit for the race.
Stroll’s elimination meant that the Canadian became the first F1 driver to record 100 Q1 eliminations since the format was introduced.
Gasly meanwhile finished fastest with his first flier as his final flier at the end was just 0.003s slower underlining his pace in the first segment of Qualifying.
Q2
Lawson again ventured out first and set 1m 22.828 as the initial benchmark but Verstappen found 0.255s to go quickest from the Kiwi, until the eighth minute when Antonelli, Russell then Gasly were amongst those who demoted him down to tenth.
Piastri meanwhile set 1m 22.017 to head Norris by 0.050s after their first runs, whilst the bottom six comprised of; Hamilton, Bearman, Lawson, Hulkenberg, Sainz and Ocon.
Verstappen on his second flier improved to fifth but his teammate, Lawson was unable to reach Q3 as he only qualified 14th ahead of Sainz and Ocon but behind Hulkenberg and Bearman who qualified 13th and 12th respectively.
Lawson will however start from the back of the grid after he took a new power unit despite only filling in for Isack Hadjar, who is still recovering from a wrist injury.
Bortoleto meanwhile missed out on Q3 in 11th by just 0.001s to Hamilton, whilst Leclerc scraped into Q3 by 0.008s.
Up front, Antonelli set 1m 21.882 to finish Q2 as the fastest driver from Piastri.
Q3
Antonelli was first out on track but opted to only provide a tow for Russell’s first flier, which saw the Brit set 1m 21.929 as the benchmark time ahead of Piastri by 0.037s, with Gasly surprisingly slotting into third and Leclerc fourth as the top four were split by 0.075s.
Verstappen sat fifth after the first run ahead of; Norris, Lindblad, Hamilton, Colapinto and Antonelli, but Antonelli opted to do his first lap in the gap which lifted him up to sixth.
With just over two minutes left, Piastri led everyone out for their final runs but locked up at Variante del Rettifilo whilst Russell improved to 1m 21.846. Gasly however sprung a shock 1m 21.786 to snatch pole by 0.060s.
Piastri qualified third ahead of Leclerc, Hamilton and Verstappen, whilst Colapinto, Norris and Lindblad qualified eighth, ninth and tenth but will be promoted a position each as seventh-placed Antonelli starts from the back due to a new power unit.
| Position | Driver | Team | Time |
| 1 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | 1m 21.786 |
| 2 | George Russell | Mercedes | + 0.060 |
| 3 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | + 0.180 |
| 4 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | + 0.218 |
| 5 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | + 0.225 |
| 6 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | + 0.284 |
| 7 | Andrea Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | + 0.307 |
| 8 | Franco Colapinto | Alpine | + 0.434 |
| 9 | Lando Norris | McLaren | + 0.470 |
| 10 | Arvid Lindblad | Racing Bulls | + 0.500 |
| 11 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Audi | 1m 22.517 |
| 12 | Oliver Bearman | Haas | + 0.239 |
| 13 | Nico Hulkenberg | Audi | + 0.262 |
| 14 | Liam Lawson | Red Bull | + 0.304 |
| 15 | Carlos Sainz | Williams | + 0.936 |
| 16 | Esteban Ocon | Haas | + 0.937 |
| 17 | Yuki Tsunoda | Racing Bulls | 1m 23.755 |
| 18 | Alex Albon | Williams | + 0.601 |
| 19 | Valtteri Bottas | Cadillac | + 0.609 |
| 20 | Sergio Perez | Cadillac | + 0.840 |
| 21 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | + 1.395 |
| 22 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | + 1.467 |
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