Alpine’s Gasly stuns with upset pole at Monza, betters both Russell in P2 and P3 Piastri; Ferrari stumble in front of tifosi 

Qualifying for the Italian Grand Prix at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza is usually about Formula 1’s big hitters trimming out and unleashing their maximum engine capacities at the fastest circuit on the calendar, with the midfield runners and backmarkers fighting over the scraps. Only rarely does an upstart team display surprise speed and completely flummox any given season’s top three or four teams. But on Saturday in the beautiful countryside north of Milan and a stone’s throw from Ferarri’s headquarters in Maranello, Alpine’s Pierre Gasly sent shockwaves through the paddock by wresting pole away from mighty Mercedes’ George Russell with a massively rapid final flying lap in Q3. It was the Frenchman’s first career pole in his ten-year F1 career. Not only was gassy overjoyed but it also came as sweet redemption after losing his third place podium finish in Monaco when his pit lane speeding penalties there were belatedly reinstated by FIA’s Court of Appeal. And this was no fluke nor did his rivals trip themselves up significantly — the Mercedes-powered Alpine looks genuinely fast here at Monza, especially in the hands of the talented Gasly, and the potential for his second career victory is definitely real.

Russell and Mercedes were not only bested by a customer car but also felt their final effort in Q3 was compromised by Red Bull’s Max Verstappen on a day where the slipstream and getting it just right lead directly to faster lap time. After settling for P2, Russell, who had been the favorite all weekend, will simply have to prove that he’s the fastest man in the race come Sunday. Adding to Mercedes somewhat meh post-quali feelings, they already knew their championship leading pilot Kimi Antonelli would be starting from the back of the grid no matter how he qualified — he ended up P7 while mainly trying to lend a hand to Russell — having taken a raft of power unit component changes that put the young Italian into the penalty zone. Antonelli will be looking to harness his natural pace and the superiority of his Silver Arrow to fight his way back to the front and limit the weekend’s damage in front his home fans, with perhaps some creative tire strategy helping him out from the pit wall.

As if the grid wasn’t already shuffled enough, while McLaren’s Oscar Piastri qualified a solid P3, the Aussie was hit with a three-gird spot penalty for blocking the second Red Bull of Liam Lawson earlier in Q2. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who qualified P4, will be promoted, as will Lewis Hamilton, who qualified P5. To be fair, though, the Prancing Horses seemed to be nowhere in front of the hungry tifosi, either lacking the straight-line speed required here or else fumbling their team tow tactics. It will be interesting to see if they may have more race pace than single lap speed on Sunday. Lord knows Italy expects it! Rounding out the Top 10, an unhappy Verstappen was P6, the second Alpine of Franco Colapinto was P8, the second McLaren of reigning world champ Lando Norris was way down in P9 and rookie Arvid Lindblad made it into Q3 for Racing Bulls and was P10.

Top 10 qualifiers for the Italian GP:

Complete qualifying results available via Formula1.com.

Tomorrow’s race airs live beginning at 9 AM Eastern on AppleTV here in the States. Hope to see you then to find out if Gasly can hold off the surging pack of elite drivers behind him and earn a fairy tale win at the Temple of Speed!