Pierre Gasly takes pole position in Monza, surprised in the Mercedes-Ferrari duel

Surprisingly, Pierre Gasly. In the announced fight between Mercedes and Ferrari, the Frenchman from Alpine emerges. Twenty-four hours in a blender of emotions for him. From the anger at the podium denied in Monte Carlo, three months later, to the joy of the first pole position, in Monza: on the circuit where he took his first and only victory in F1, in 2020, in the city just a few kilometers from home. Gasly, in fact, has lived for years with his Portuguese girlfriend Kika in Milan, a city he chose for its glamour, after his first move to Italy, to Bologna, near the Faenza headquarters of the then Alpha Tauri.

"I'm just very happy and proud, for me, for the team - his words in perfect Italian -, we went beyond all expectations. In 9 years in Formula 1 I have never been able to compete for certain positions, it's such a great feeling. Italy for me is the country of first times, tonight I will sleep really well". A nice revenge for Flavio Briatore, censured by the FIA ​​after the heavy accusations at the Monaco GP trial: "What happened is not nice at all but it is the demonstration that we must always react. It is a great satisfaction, it has been 16 years since this team has been on pole. If we want to dream, let's aim for victory. Realistically, the podium is within reach".

The team's managing director Steve Nielsen is even more direct: "If you think about the atmosphere in the garage when we received the sentence, which will bother me for the rest of my life, it's a nice way to redeem yourself by winning pole position. It's fantastic." There are those who rejoice and those who question. Russell starts second but knows that Alpine uses the same Mercedes engine and will not be an easy customer to overtake; the Ferraris of Leclerc and Hamilton start from the second row after the penalty to Piastri (down three positions for having obstructed Lawson). Toto Wolff punches a monitor due to the disappointment of having missed pole with the Englishman: "I really wanted to, but I'm happy for them". Antonelli, starting from the back of the pack after having changed the power unit, hopes that the outsiders will take points away from his rivals for the title: "I have to stay away from trouble in the first two chicanes and then hammer away."

What is happening in Ferrari, however, is inexplicable, tarnished after the brilliant free practice. The new engine is not enough. The risk of a crash in Q2 makes the fans tremble: the drivers are sent out on track with used tyres, they have a problem with the battery - Vasseur reveals this - and they are saved from the cut by a thousandth with Hamilton and by seven with Leclerc. It would have been a catastrophe. With the strategy it doesn't go much better in Q3: the Englishman finds himself alone, without any trail, in the first attempt. “Bad execution,” he complains to the British media. Leclerc, on the other hand, tries to keep morale higher, while contesting the choices on the wall: "We complicated life for ourselves. We suffer on the straights but I will try to make magic like in 2019 and 2024. I don't think about anything else when I get here." The wand, so far, is firmly in the hands of Gasly 'the Milanese': Harry Potter fan with a habit of unexpected spells in Monza.