Monza, Sep 5 (IANS) Pierre Gasly secured his maiden Formula 1 pole position in a thrilling qualifying session at the Italian Grand Prix, edging Mercedes’ George Russell and McLaren’s Oscar Piastri to the top spot at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza.
In Q3, the Alpine driver managed a remarkable last lap of 1:21.786, overtaking Russell and Piastri to secure his first pole position in Formula 1.
The achievement came after Gasly, who won his first F1 race at Monza in 2020, had been running close to the front during the entire Saturday qualifying session.
Gasly was in third place, behind Russell and Piastri, after the first Q3 laps, but the Frenchman held back his best until the end. The effort he made on the last lap brought him to the top of the timing sheets and had a big effect throughout the paddock.
The report also showed the effect of Alpine’s newly updated car, which was powered by a Mercedes engine, enabling Gasly to perform well at the high-speed Temple of Speed. Russell came in second place, with Piastri finishing in the top three.
Although Ferrari’s good performance in practice did not carry over into a chance of securing pole position, Charles Leclerc managed to qualify in fourth place and Lewis Hamilton in fifth. Max Verstappen came sixth for Red Bull, while the home favourite Kimi Antonelli obtained seventh place in the other Mercedes before receiving his engine penalty.
Franco Colapinto thus reached two Alpines in the top ten by securing the eighth position, beating both Lando Norris of McLaren and Arvid Lindblad of Racing Bulls.
Norris, just as his teammate Piastri did, had difficulty with his brakes during qualifying.
Hamilton just managed to progress through Q2 and earned his spot in Q3 by the smallest of margins. Gabriel Bortoleto of Audi was only one thousandth of a second slower in their last Q2 laps and will therefore start in 11th position, placing him in front of Ollie Bearman, who is driving the upgraded Haas-Ferrari and ahead of his Audi teammate Nico Hulkenberg.
Liam Lawson, who is likewise suffering from a grid drop due to having changed his power unit, ended up in 14th place after being obstructed by Piastri on his last lap in Q2, a situation which the stewards recorded.
During his second weekend acting as a Racing Bulls driver, Yuki Tsunoda suffered a setback by failing at the first qualifying jump and ended up in 17th place, while Lindblad progressed all the way to 10th position.
Alexander Albon, who was also being penalised for an engine problem, assisted his Williams teammate Carlos Sainz by giving him a tow in Q1, but ended up in 18th place. He finished ahead of only the Cadillac drivers Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez, as well as the Aston Martin drivers Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll.
–IANS
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