Pierre Gasly, the F1 driver who’s been grinding for years, just pulled off one of the biggest shock pole positions Formula 1 has seen in ages at Monza, and the lead-up to it is straight out of a movie script. Just a quarter-hour before qualifying, Alpine’s Gasly was online playing chess with Mercedes’ George Russell, and get this: Gasly was winning! He felt “pretty confident,” he said, because he was “picking piece by piece after piece.” His performance coach, Ben Thorne, even ribbed him, saying, “OK, well, you’re getting George here, but he’s going to get you in a few minutes.” Gasly admitted to a swear word in response, but he was grinning as he recalled the moment. Turns out, he was right to be confident.
From Chessboard Bragging Rights to Grid Domination
Russell, who’ll start P2 right behind Gasly, was laughing about it later, too. “He beat me there,” Russell admitted, “and I thought, ‘Well, I think I’ll beat you in qualifying,’ and here we are, he’s ahead of me again.” Nobody, and we mean NOBODY, including Gasly or his Alpine squad, expected this 30-year-old veteran to snag pole on Saturday. Yeah, his only F1 win came at this exact track six years ago, but that was a wild, pandemic-era race heavily influenced by luck, a restart, and other drivers’ misfortunes. This pole? This was pure, unadulterated merit. This dude waited 190 Grand Prix for his first pole position, making it the second-longest wait in F1 history, with only Sergio Perez (215 races) holding out longer. Gasly’s journey has been tough; a Red Bull protege who got crushed by Max Verstappen and demoted in 2019, he’s been a bit of a “forgotten hero” despite his paddock popularity.
Alpine’s Secret Weapon and a Hectic Q3
So, how did they do it? The Alpine car is absolutely humming, especially with its strong straight-line speed and a low-downforce aerodynamic design built for Monza’s fast track. Plus, it’s packing a Mercedes engine, which is the best in the field. The car has looked quick all weekend, and it got an upgrade at the last race in the Netherlands that clearly clicked. Gasly and his team just flat-out nailed qualifying, while all the usual front-runners had surprisingly scrappy sessions. Gasly himself couldn’t believe it. “Monza is a bit of unique track as we know,” he said. “It definitely exceeded all our expectations.” They made a “good step from P3 to quali” that was “slightly bigger than the other guys.” He was P1 in Q1, P4 in Q2, and then P3 on his first Q3 run. That’s when he felt he truly had a shot. He left “everything I had out there,” describing it as “quite hectic through Ascari and Parabolica.” He knew it was a rewarded lap, but pole? That was beyond belief.
This is a massive moment for Gasly and for Alpine, a team that has stumbled since his arrival but is finally showing signs of a revival this season after Renault’s engine project pivot. Starting from pole is huge, and tomorrow’s race will be all about seeing if Gasly can convert this stunning Saturday into a Sunday victory. Can he really pull off the unthinkable again?
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by BBC Sport.
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