UNBELIEVABLE: Paul Aron’s teammate wins Monza GP qualifying

Pierre Gasly delivered one of the most unexpected qualifying results of the century at Monza, putting Alpine on pole for the Italian Grand Prix. The Frenchman set a time of 1:21.786 on his final attempt, edging Mercedes driver George Russell by six hundredths of a second.

Alpine entered the weekend as a midfield team. It sits sixth among the 11 constructors, 16 points behind fifth place, and Gasly’s best qualifying result this season had been seventh in Japan. At Monza, however, he surprised the entire field.

Oscar Piastri will start Sunday’s race from third for McLaren, alongside Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc on the second row. Gasly’s Alpine teammate Franco Colapinto qualified eighth, 0.434 seconds behind the pole time.

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It was amazing, thank you everyone! An amazing qualifying session. The feeling was very good from the beginning. That last lap felt very good, so I was immediately happy. I’ve been trying for nine years to get my first qualifying win. Finally, I got it at the same track where I took my first race win. It’s a special track.

The Monza circuit has already brought Gasly one of the defining moments of his career. He won his only Formula 1 race there in 2020, and now has his first qualifying victory at the same track. “It was amazing, thank you everyone! An amazing qualifying session. The feeling was very good from the beginning. That last lap felt very good, so I was immediately happy. I’ve been trying for nine years to get my first qualifying win. Finally, I got it at the same track where I took my first race win. It’s a special track,” Gasly told the BBC live blog.

Russell congratulated him after finishing second. “We played chess about 15 minutes before qualifying. He beat me, so I thought, okay, I’ll beat him in qualifying then. But here we are, he beat me again! I’m a little disappointed, but Pierre and Alpine have been very fast. I’m happy for them,” Russell said. The Monza Grand Prix begins on Sunday at 4 p.m. Estonia time.

“

We played chess about 15 minutes before qualifying. He beat me, so I thought, okay, I’ll beat him in qualifying then. But here we are, he beat me again! I’m a little disappointed, but Pierre and Alpine have been very fast. I’m happy for them.