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Alpine shocks Monza: Gasly takes pole as Colapinto records career-best qualifying

From Clarín · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Outcome reported
  • Alpine secured a surprise pole position at Monza through Pierre Gasly, with both cars reaching the final qualifying session.
  • Franco Colapinto qualified eighth, his best Formula 1 qualifying result, and will start seventh after Kimi Antonelli’s 30-place penalty.
  • Gasly beat George Russell by 0.060 seconds with a final-lap time of 1:21.786.

Alpine turned frustration into celebration at Monza, placing both cars in Q3 and taking a surprise pole position through Pierre Gasly. Franco Colapinto also produced the best qualifying performance of his Formula 1 career.

Gasly’s final lap, completed in 1:21.786, beat George Russell’s time by 60 thousandths of a second. Colapinto qualified eighth, but will start seventh because Kimi Antonelli received a 30-place penalty. It was Colapinto’s fourth appearance in Q3, after previous results in Canada, Azerbaijan in 2024 and Miami in 2026.

It’s quite incredible. It’s not as if we expected to take pole. Taking pole is a surprise for everyone, but Pierre and the team did a great job.

· Franco ColapintoColapinto congratulated Gasly after Alpine took pole at Monza.

The Argentine said the pole had not been expected. “It’s quite incredible. It’s not as if we expected to take pole. Taking pole is a surprise for everyone, but Pierre and the team did a great job,” he said after leaving the car. “He’s on pole, I’m eighth... I’m looking forward to having a good race and moving forward.”

He’s on pole, I’m eighth... I’m looking forward to having a good race and moving forward.

· Franco ColapintoColapinto described his starting position after qualifying.

Colapinto was strong from the start of qualifying. In Q1, his first lap was enough to place him ahead of the Frenchman for part of the session, while both Alpine cars advanced. In Q2, he improved to 1:22.403 on his first attempt and reached Q3 in eighth. The session relied heavily on slipstreaming, with teams pairing drivers to gain the fractions of a second needed to reach the top 10.

Russell set the fastest time on the first Q3 runs and appeared in contention for pole, but Gasly’s late run changed the order. Russell said he was disappointed to miss pole, particularly because he had hoped to benefit from Colapinto’s penalty and close the gap in the drivers’ championship. Ferrari drivers Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton qualified behind him, while Max Verstappen ended the session sixth after losing a key slipstream partner.

I was disappointed not to get pole.

· George RussellRussell reacted after Gasly displaced him from the top of the Q3 standings.
About this summary

Originally published by Clarín in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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