#GaslyMonza is the F1 fan-tag that trended around Pierre Gasly’s shock maiden pole position for Alpine at the September 5, 2026 Italian Grand Prix qualifying. Sitting third to George Russell and Oscar Piastri after the first Q3 runs, Gasly delivered a 1m 21.786s lap on his final attempt to jump both, edging Russell by 0.060 seconds and Piastri by more, in what Formula 1’s official recap called a “sensational” and “shock” pole. The result put him on the front row for Sunday’s race and made him the first French driver to take pole in Formula 1 since Jean Alesi at Monza in 1997 — for Benetton, one of the direct forerunner teams of today’s Alpine.
Quick Facts
- Session: 2026 Italian Grand Prix Qualifying, Autodromo Nazionale Monza, September 5, 2026
- Pole time: 1m 21.786s
- Margin: 0.060s over George Russell (Mercedes); Oscar Piastri (McLaren) P3
- Team: Alpine (Mercedes-powered, updated package)
- Career context: First F1 pole for Gasly; first French pole since Alesi at Monza 1997
- Race: Sunday, September 7, 2026
What Happened
Gasly and his updated, Mercedes-powered Alpine were on the pace throughout the Monza weekend, per Motorsport.com and Sky Sports F1. In Q3, Russell and Piastri traded fastest sectors on their opening runs, and Gasly was three-tenths back. On his final flying lap, he pulled his signature quick middle sector — Ascari and the Parabolica — and beat the McLaren-Mercedes benchmark by a car length across the line, taking pole by 0.060 seconds. Sky’s live blog cut to Russell’s on-board radio (“Where did that come from?”) and Alpine team principal reaction as the timing screen turned Alpine’s traditional pink for the first time on a Saturday since the Ocon-Alonso years.
Formula 1’s official post-session report emphasized how out-of-sequence the result was: Alpine had come into Monza off a difficult run of races, and Gasly’s maiden pole came in his 168th F1 start.
Why It Mattered
Three reasons the moment traveled beyond hardcore F1 accounts:
- A first pole after eight-plus seasons — Gasly is one of the current grid’s most tenured drivers, with a Monza win (2020, AlphaTauri) and a Baku podium already on his record. Pole had eluded him.
- Alpine’s return to the front — Alpine had been rebuilding under new leadership through 2025–26; a Monza pole was the first tangible pay-off.
- Monza’s mystique — Gasly’s 2020 win at Monza was already one of the era’s iconic feel-good results (a mid-race Safety Car + Hamilton pit-lane closed-pit penalty gave AlphaTauri its first win). Taking pole at the same circuit six years later gave media a ready-made “return to Monza” storyline.
Reactions
Post-qualifying quotes carried across Formula 1’s official channel, Sky Sports F1, Motorsport.com, Yahoo Sports, and ABC News: Gasly credited an aggressive Q3 setup gamble, Russell offered a “chapeau” over team radio, and Alesi himself posted congratulations noting he had held the “last French pole” record for 29 years — a stat that trended alongside the hashtag on X.
Variations & Related Tags
- #PierreGasly — driver core tag
- #Alpine / #ItalianGP — team and race tags
- #MonzaMagic — recurring circuit tag, reused on days like this
Sources
- https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article/gasly-charges-to-sensational-maiden-f1-pole-at-monza-over-russell-and-piastri.4CKkkbvgmqL04ijMNBfuXF
- https://www.skysports.com/f1/news/12433/13581632/italian-gp-qualifying-pierre-gasly-claims-shock-first-pole-position-to-beat-george-russell-to-head-of-monza-grid-for-alpine
- https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/f1-italian-gp-qualifying-report/10852577/
- https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/pierre-gasly-pole-monza-saturday-080017743.html
- https://www.clickorlando.com/sports/2026/09/05/pierre-gasly-stuns-at-monza-again-with-a-first-ever-pole-position-for-f1s-italian-gp/
- https://abcnews.com/Sports/wireStory/italian-gp-pierre-gasly-stuns-monza-pole-position-136227669