Pierre Gasly ended a long wait in Formula 1 by securing his first career pole position at the Italian GP this Saturday. The Frenchman put Alpine at the top in a surprising qualifying session in Monza.
Read more F1: Check out the images from the qualifying of the 2026 Italian GP
Gasly reached the milestone after 191 attempts and set a new historic moment for the team. The Frenchman also became the first Alpine driver to start from pole, and the first French representative to achieve the feat since Jean Alesi at the 1997 Italian GP.
The driver was dominant from the start of the session, leading Q1 before confirming the top spot with a time of 1min21s786. The mark was just 0.080 seconds faster than that set by George Russell of Mercedes, enough to make Gasly the 109th different pole sitter in F1 history.
Read more F1: Gasly surprises, beats Mercedes and clinches pole at the Italian GP
The achievement also had a special meaning for Gasly as it happened on the same circuit where he won his first race in the category, in 2020. The result also marked the team’s first pole since Fernando Alonso at the 2009 Hungarian GP.
After the qualifying session, Gasly highlighted the evolution of his performance throughout the session and revealed the magnitude of the wait for the result: “It was incredible. It was an incredible qualifying session from the first lap in Q1. It took nine years trying to seek and have the opportunity to get a pole position,” he added.
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