Pierre Gasly claims maiden F1 pole position at Italian Grand Prix

Alpine’s Pierre Gasly edged Mercedes’ George Russell by just 0.060 seconds to secure his maiden career Formula 1 pole position at the 2026 Italian Grand Prix.

In a tightly fought qualifying shootout under the late-afternoon sun at the Temple of Speed, Gasly delivered a flawless final lap of 1:21.786 to beat Russell’s 1:21.846, while McLaren’s Oscar Piastri completed the top three, 0.180s off the benchmark.

When the session went green and Q1 got underway, it was immediately clear that the battle for slipstreams would be as compelling as the battle for lap times.

The first flurry of lap times brought a 1:22.631s from Max Verstappen, followed closely by Lewis Hamilton, Oscar Piastri and Charles Leclerc, with Lando Norris backing out of a lap but going again and slotting into fifth.

A few minutes later, Pierre Gasly surged to P1 with a 1:22.612s while Alpine teammate Franco Colapinto followed up with a 1:22.662s to take P3 ahead of Mercedes duo of Kimi Antonelli and George Russell whose efforts landed in the 1:22.7s bracket.

After the slipstreaming train of cars had crossed the line one more time, Gasly was confirmed as the Q1 pace-setter with his earlier effort, in front of Verstappen, an improved Norris, Colapinto and FP3 star Arvid Lindblad, who also made gains on his final run.

At the sharp end of the elimination battle, the session claimed its first victims including Racing Bulls’ replacement driver Yuki Tsunoda, who suffered an interrupted start to his session due to a fuel leak.

He was joined by Williams’ Alex Albon along with the Cadillacs of Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez, as the Aston Martins of Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll sat 21st and 22nd.

As Q2 began, Verstappen moved quickly to bank a 1:22.573s, though his radio communication told a more troubled story as the Dutchman reported: “The car is broken on the rear axle again. It’s really undriveable in Turn 2, 4 and 5.”

Amid a flurry of improvements, Antonelli finished Q2 at the top of the times via a 1:21.882s, followed by Piastri, Norris, Gasly, Russell and Verstappen, with Lindblad, Colapinto, Leclerc and an under-pressure Hamilton grabbing the final Q3 spots.

Liam Lawson was left furious at being baulked by Piastri through the first chicane, which the stewards duly noted. Lawson, who replaces the injured Isack Hadjar for the second consecutive weekend, would join Antonelli at the back of the grid with an engine penalty.

Also eliminated were Gabriel Bortoleto, Ollie Bearman, Nico Hulkenberg, Carlos Sainz and Esteban Ocon.

The final pole shootout began with all 10 drivers heading out early to secure a tow, knowing that the final laps would be decided by who could find the cleanest slipstream into the final sector.

On the first serious Q3 runs, Russell posted 1:21.921 to lead with Gasly close behind at 1:21.954. Piastri improved to 1:21.966, while Hamilton and Leclerc were within two-tenths.

As the clock ticked below two minutes, all cars made their final laps on fresh soft tires and a strong tow behind Colapinto down the back straight and through Lesmo ultimately ensured Pierre Gasly claims maiden F1 pole position.

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Full F1 2026 Italian Grand Prix Qualifying Results