Pierre Gasly takes shock pole position in Monza

Credit: Luca Martini / WHYOUT Media

Qualifying in Monza saw Pierre Gasly make history by clinching his first ever pole position in Formula One. In an incredible performance throughout the session, it came down to the final moments of Q3 where the Frenchman managed to outpace George Russell who will start second in tomorrow's Grand Prix.

Starting in third for now is Oscar Piastri, however he is due an investigation from the stewards following an incident where he impeded Liam Lawson's timed lap.

Here's how the exciting qualifying session panned out in Monza:

Q1

It was confirmed at the beginning of Q1 that Yuki Tsunoda's car had a fuel leak which was not an ideal start for the Racing Bulls reserve driver.

On the other hand, Lawson who stepped up to Isack Hadjar's Red Bull seat for the time being quickly got out onto the track setting the first be 1:24:103. However, it wasn't the quickest time on the board at this point, with the likes of Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc rounding out the top three after their first flying laps.

Lando Norris' opening lap saw him spin out at Turn 1 and complaining about the brakes on the MCL40, meaning his lap time was discarded and it was his turn to take another trip around Autodromo Nazionale Monza. Meanwhile, his teammate Piastri managed to slot himself in between the Ferrari's in a strong start to the session.

It was time for both of the Mercedes' to get out onto the track, with both drivers setting solid times to slot into the top five. Tsunoda also managed to get himself out onto the track and out of the elimination zone.

In a soaring lap, Gasly managed to push his Alpine to its absolute limits by setting the quickest time of Q1 with 1:22:612. Franco Colapinto in the other A526 joined him towards the top of the sheet by slotting into third.

It was time for Lawson to go around the track in soft tyres for the first time, trying to make another great impression in the RB26. Trying his best to up the pace, he managed to move from 12th to 10th fastest, a slight improvement from his tour around the track.

Before the session ended, Fernando Alonso went back to the garage and got out of the car, despite being down in 20th and out of Q1.

Joining Alonso in the elimination zone was his Aston Martin teammate, Lance Stroll, as well as both Cadillacs, Alex Albon and Tsunoda who was pushed back down after Nico Hülkenberg and Esteban Ocon managed to improve their times. Carlos Sainz managed to just scrape his way through into the next part of qualifying.

Q1 ended with Gasly topping the time sheet with his speed on show following the devastating news of his Monaco podium being revoked after an FIA investigation. It was then an even more intriguing watch to see whether Gasly could keep up the pace for the rest of the session.

Q1 eliminations

17. Yuki Tsunoda

18. Alex Albon

19. Valtteri Bottas

20. Sergio Pérez

21. Fernando Alonso

22. Lance Stroll

Q2

Q2 got underway with both Red Bull's getting out early, with Verstappen hoping for Lawson to put in a quick enough time to get into Q3 and help him out with a tow later in the session. Verstappen went fastest with a time of 1:22:573, with Lawson following not too far behind with an improved time of 1:22:828

After only the Verstappen, Lawson and Sainz being out on the track, the rest of the grid made their way out to hopefully get some storming laps on the board. This included the home country hero and championship leader Kimi Antonelli, who had a rapid time of 1:22:334, moving ahead of Verstappen momentarily before Russell took the top spot.

Then, in quick succession, Gasly shockingly went fastest again, followed by the McLaren's of Piastri and Norris.

Arvid Lindblad had a solid time that boosted him up to sixth, with Colapinto following him in seventh. The Ferrari drivers unfortunately weren't having their best day, despite Monza being the team's home race.

After a quiet few minutes, the cars began to make their way down the pitlane for some final flying laps of Q2. Lawson unfortunately couldn't get himself out of the elimination zone, partially due to traffic in his first sector. The incident of Piastri blocking Lawson in his first corner was noted for investigation.

Hamilton just managed to squeeze into the top 10 in the final moments, pushing Gabriel Bortoleto down into 11th.

Q2 eliminations

11. Gabriel Bortoleto

12. Oliver Bearman

13. Nico Hülkenberg

14. Liam Lawson

15. Carlos Sainz

16. Esteban Ocon

Q3

Despite having a grid penalty for taking a new power unit this weekend, Antonelli progressed to Q3 and was prepared to help his teammate and title challenger, Russell, by providing a slipstream.

This allowed Russell to bank the quickest time of qualifying yet with a time of 1:21:929. In quick succession, every driver crossed the line, with all of their positions changing within a few seconds. Behind Russell was Piastri, followed by Gasly back in the top three. Hamilton unfortunately struggled on his lap, only being 8th fastest.

The final laps were underway with two minutes left on the clock. Piastri was leading the pack with Norris just behind him. Unfortunately, Piastri locked up just after starting his flying lap, meaning his lap was called off. This also meant that Norris didn't have a tow from his teammate and was noticeably losing time, staying in seventh.

Verstappen stayed fifth, with Russell retaining his top spot. This was until Russell was pipped by Gasly in a shocking moment where the Frenchman took his first ever pole position in F1. He had a final lap time of 1:21:786

Top 10

1. Pierre Gasly

2. George Russell

3 Oscar Piastri

4 Charles Leclerc

5 Lewis Hamilton

6 Max Verstappen

7 Kimi Antonelli

8 Franco Colapinto

9 Lando Norris

10 Arvid Lindblad