One of the biggest surprises of qualifying at Monza came from Pierre Gasly. The French Alpine driver found the decisive lap at the end of the session and took pole position for the Italian Grand Prix, leaving behind some of Formula 1’s biggest names.
Gasly strikes late to go top
In the decisive moments of the session, Gasly set the fastest time and finished qualifying in first place. His performance at Monza comes as a result few expected, especially against rivals with cars traditionally considered more competitive.
Behind the Frenchman came George Russell for Mercedes, while third place went to Oscar Piastri. That trio sealed an order that changed expectations ahead of the race start.
Leclerc and Hamilton in the top five
Charles Leclerc ended the session in fourth place, while Lewis Hamilton completed the top five. Big names were left behind Gasly, who made the most of the closing stages of qualifying on the Italian circuit.
Even Max Verstappen could not climb higher than sixth place, another detail that makes the order from Monza even more unusual.
Antonelli quick, but penalized for the start
Kimi Antonelli finished qualifying in seventh place, but that will not translate into the same position at the start. According to Mercedes’ decision, the use of a new power unit brings a grid penalty.
This means the Italian driver will start the race from the back of the field, despite managing to rank among the seven fastest on track.
Race on Sunday at Monza
After a session that produced a far from usual order, attention now turns to Sunday’s race. The Italian Grand Prix is scheduled to start at 15:00.
Gasly’s pole position gives added weight to the start at Monza, in a weekend where qualifying raised more questions than it gave certainty for the favorites.
Monza often brings surprises, but this time the name that shook up the order was Pierre Gasly.
It remains to be seen whether Alpine will turn pole position into a major race result as well.