F1 Qualifying Results: Pierre Gasly takes staggering pole position at Italian Grand Prix

Pierre Gasly took a stunning first pole position of his career at the Italian Grand Prix after a staggering hour of qualifying at Monza.

Monza was also the site of Gasly's first and only win in the sport in 2020, and comes just a day after his podium finish at Monaco was removed from his grasp by an FIA appeals panel.

He and his Alpine team-mate Franco Colapinto looked strong throughout the session, the Frenchman also finishing top of the timing sheets in Q1, and a stunning final lap of the afternoon secured a pole position start for Sunday's race.

George Russell will start alongside the former Monza winner in second, with a second row of Oscar Piastri and Charles Leclerc chasing them off the line ahead of Lewis Hamilton.

Lando Norris, winner of the last two races, will start all the way down in eighth position – setting the ninth fastest time but leap-frogging Kimi Antonelli thanks to the Mercedes driver's 30-place grid penalty.

Down at the back, Aston Martin and Honda received a chastening reminder that they still have significant work left to do to challenge at power-critical circuits, with Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll sitting 21st and 22nd on the timing sheets.

They were just behind the Cadillac pair of Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas, who were joined in the cut zone by Alex Albon – who will take a 20-place grid penalty and start from the back – and Yuki Tsunoda.

F1 2026 Italian Grand Prix Qualifying Results

Changes to F1 Qualifying in 2026

There are a couple of changes to the way qualifying works this year, not quite as sweeping as the new technical regulations.

Firstly we now have 22 cars on the grid, so instead of five cars exiting after Q1 and Q2, we will have six being eliminated. That still leaves 10 for the pole shootout in Q3.

The other notable change lies in the timings - Q3 now gets an extra minute and lasts for 13 rather than 12.

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Chris Deeley - Editor

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