Monza, Pierre Gasly's first pole: Alpine ahead of everyone in 1'21"786

Qualifying for the 2026 Italian Grand Prix produced the least expected result of the weekend: pole position goes to Pierre Gasly, who lapped in 1’21”786 with Alpine. It is the first pole position of the French driver’s career and the first for the team under its current name, following the rebrand from Renault, according to the official FIA results reported by the Italpress agency.

“It was fantastic, an incredible qualifying session” — Pierre Gasly, Alpine driver

Behind him George Russell finished 60 thousandths back with Mercedes; third was Oscar Piastri. The two Ferraris occupy the second row and a half — Charles Leclerc fourth, Lewis Hamilton fifth — with Max Verstappen sixth, as confirmed by the results published by PlanetF1.

The grid does not match the qualifying classification

The seventh fastest time belongs to Kimi Antonelli, who will nonetheless start from the back of the grid: Mercedes has decided to replace the power unit, and the resulting penalty moves him down from the position achieved on track. It is a distinction that matters more at Monza than elsewhere — the qualifying classification and the starting grid are two different lists, and it is the second one that counts when the red lights go out.

The margin between the top two, sixty thousandths, is the figure that best describes the session: on a circuit where time is gained through slipstream and braking, a gap of that order depends on a fortunate alignment more than on a structural advantage of the car. This makes translating the pole into a race result anything but automatic.

What changes for the race

The front row puts two unexpected cars ahead of those who normally have the best pace over the distance. With Verstappen sixth and the Ferraris in fourth and fifth position, the start becomes the moment with the greatest potential for reshuffling: at Monza the first braking point comes after a long straight, and the position earned on Saturday is defended or lost within the first few seconds.

Position	Driver	Note
1	Pierre Gasly	1’21”786, first pole of his career
2	George Russell	60 thousandths back
3	Oscar Piastri
4	Charles Leclerc
5	Lewis Hamilton
6	Max Verstappen
7	Kimi Antonelli	will start from the back

The figures in the table are those of the official FIA results, also reported by RacingNews365.

What we don’t know

We do not know the times of the drivers beyond seventh position, nor the aerodynamic configurations chosen by the teams, which at Monza are the decisive variable between top speed and cornering grip. We do not know how many other drivers received grid penalties besides Antonelli, nor the exact position each will start from once the sanctions are applied. There is no indication, in the available material, of the planned tire strategies.

The test comes today in the race: sixty thousandths of an advantage, on a track where slipstream makes every overtake easier than elsewhere, are worth less than they would be worth elsewhere.