News Summary
- Pierre Gasly stunned Formula 1 by taking his maiden pole position at Monza, giving Alpine its first top spot on the grid in 17 years.
- George Russell missed out by just 0.060s, but Mercedes remains the favorite for the Italian GP, with Ferrari also positioned to challenge.
- McLaren’s qualifying was compromised by Oscar Piastri’s mistake in Q3, leaving the team with Piastri sixth and Lando Norris eighth on the grid.
The 2026 Formula 1 Italian GP qualifying session, held on Saturday (5), produced one of the biggest surprises of the season — and of recent years: Pierre Gasly’s pole position. The Alpine driver took his team to its first pole in 17 years just one day after the squad lost, in court, its only podium of the season so far.
Watch the qualifying reaction and analysis on YouTube
Gasly’s result does not suddenly make Alpine the favorite, nor does it mean Mercedes has lost its status as the team to beat. But it was not a fluke that happened out of nowhere, either. Qualifying at Monza had a story to tell — and it certainly did.
The decisive factor was the almost pathological need for a tow on a track where straight-line speed is everything. Some drivers managed to make the system work for them — Gasly was able to work with Franco Colapinto — while others became tangled in the traffic and timing.
With that in mind, GRANDE PRÊMIO highlights five things we learned from Saturday’s Formula 1 action in Italy.
Gasly stuns F1 and takes historic pole position for Alpine at the Italian GP
GRANDE PRÊMIO follows all the action from the Italian GP, the 13th round of the 2026 Formula 1 season.
1. Gasly’s revenge came at a gallop
Just one day after news broke that Alpine’s only podium in the past two years had been taken away following the reinstatement of a penalty that had been challenged for months, the team delivered the best possible response.
After the strength of Alpine’s upgrades failed to fully emerge on Friday, Gasly was consistently among the leading drivers on Saturday. In the end, he jumped ahead of Mercedes, McLaren and Ferrari to secure the first pole position of his career — on the same circuit where he scored his maiden F1 victory.
The result also ended a 17-year pole drought for Alpine and its Renault lineage, whose previous pole came with Fernando Alonso in 2009.
Gasly breaks 17-year Alpine-Renault pole drought at the Italian GP
The race will be another story, but the pole gives Alpine a particularly sweet moment after what has been a difficult week.
2. F1 still knows how to mesmerize
Gasly’s achievement is the kind of result that forces at least a half-smile. If nothing else, because nobody saw it coming.
Formula 1 is often about confirming expectations: the best teams succeeding, the very top leaving little room for the midfield to break through. With all its investment and increasingly defined hierarchy, the sport can create a certain cynicism among those who cover it every day.
An unexpected result like this — a veteran driver leaving the established favorites behind when virtually nobody expected him to — forces that cynicism aside for a moment.
At least on Saturday night, everyone can go to bed happy after watching a great Formula 1 story unfold at Monza.
3. Nothing changes: Russell is still the favorite
Anyone expecting George Russell to be furious after losing pole to such an unexpected rival, particularly on a weekend when his Mercedes teammate was already out of contention for the front, may have been surprised by how relaxed the Briton appeared after qualifying.
The reality is that Alpine does not represent a long-term threat to Mercedes over race distance, at least under normal temperature and track conditions. Even Ferrari does not appear quite as intimidating as its qualifying result might suggest.
McLaren could be the biggest threat, but the picture improved further for Russell when Oscar Piastri was handed a three-place grid penalty for impeding Liam Lawson, dropping from third to sixth. Lando Norris will start eighth.
Piastri penalized and loses 3 positions on Italian GP grid after impeding Lawson
Unless something extraordinary happens, Russell should have the opportunity to move into the lead during the opening laps and put Mercedes’ power unit to work.
4. Friends with Wolff, business is business
A key part of Russell’s defeat came from the way Max Verstappen positioned himself during the final Q3 runs.
With no Red Bull teammate still on track to provide the tow that is so valuable at Monza, Verstappen attempted to use the Mercedes cars instead. He wanted to slot himself between the two Silver Arrows and take advantage of the slipstream.
Antonelli, who was already carrying a grid penalty, had reached Q3 largely to help Russell by providing a tow. But Kimi Antonelli did not allow Verstappen to exploit the situation as planned.
Verstappen therefore ended up ahead of both Mercedes cars, while Antonelli had little incentive to accelerate enough to create a useful tow behind him. Russell was left too close to the Red Bull and without a clean run.
That may well have cost him the 0.060s that separated him from Gasly.
Russell settles for second at Italian GP and jokes “Gasly had already beaten me at chess”
Friendship with Toto Wolff clearly did not make Verstappen back off.
5. One driver’s mistake hurts two
Speaking of the tow, McLaren’s situation was particularly dramatic.
Providing a slipstream was a priority for Lando Norris, so the two McLarens went out together for their final Q3 attempt, with Piastri expected to give his teammate the benefit of the tow.
The problem was that Oscar made a mistake, ran wide at one of the corners and lost a huge amount of time and track position. The result was no useful tow for Norris, who was left effectively on his own.
“It wasn’t my best lap, that’s true, but most of the time I lost was on the straights,” the reigning world champion said.
It is a major disappointment for McLaren to leave qualifying with Piastri sixth and Norris eighth, but that is the reality facing the championship leaders heading into Sunday’s race.
FAQ
Who took pole position for the 2026 Italian GP?
Pierre Gasly claimed his maiden Formula 1 pole position at Monza, beating George Russell by 0.060s.
Where will George Russell start the Italian GP?
Russell will start second, alongside Gasly on the front row. Charles Leclerc will start third for Ferrari.
Why will Oscar Piastri start sixth at Monza?
Piastri originally qualified third but received a three-place grid penalty for impeding Liam Lawson, dropping him to sixth on the starting grid.
