Few would have expected Pierre Gasly to be on pole for the 2026 Italian Grand Prix. Solid in all three sessions, Gasly put in a blinding final lap that allowed him to capitalise on the errors made by those around him and secure his first career pole, six years after his first Grand Prix win at this very circuit. Having been a model of consistency for much of the last six years, it would appear as though Gasly’s perseverance has finally been rewarded.
Having set the pace for much of free practice, George Russell was disappointed to miss out on pole. Quickest after the initial runs in Q3, Russell ultimately fell short by just six hundredths of a second. Even so, with both his title rivals behind him, Russell is well placed for a solid points haul on Sunday.
After a frustrating free practice, Oscar Piastri’s third place was, in theory, a good result; however, after giving his teammate a tow, Piastri locked up at turn one on his final lap. The incident ended his hopes of pole, and Piastri’s woes were later compounded by a three-place grid penalty he received for impeding Liam Lawson in Q2. He will therefore start the race from sixth on the grid.
Ferrari were left wanting in qualifying. After topping the timesheets in FP1, Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton were as much as half a second off the pace at one point and were at serious risk of elimination from Q2. However, a slight error from Gabriel Bortoleto caused him to miss out on Q3 by just a thousandth of a second, which saved Ferrari’s skin. The Scuderia recovered somewhat in the dying stages of Q3. With Piastri’s penalty, Leclerc will line up third with his teammate right behind him.
Max Verstappen’s struggles persisted throughout qualifying. Less than satisfied with his car, the four-time world champion could only manage sixth. However, Verstappen will gain a place with Piastri’s penalty.
Kimi Antonelli qualified seventh but will start 20th after exceeding his power unit quota. He may have a healthy championship lead, but with both his nearest rivals up at the front, Antonelli has a great deal of work ahead of him in the race. Franco Colapinto qualified eighth ahead of Lando Norris, who was unable to make good on the tow given to him by his teammate in Q3 and Arvid Lindblad.
Bortoleto missed out on Q3 by the narrowest of margins and had to settle for 11th. Ollie Bearman qualified 12th ahead of Nico Hulkenberg and Liam Lawson, though Lawson has also received a penalty for exceeding his power unit quota and will start 21st.
Carlos Sainz qualified 15th ahead of Esteban Ocon, the returning Yuki Tsunoda and Alex Albon, who will join Antonelli and Lawson at the back of the grid. With the application of the aforementioned penalties, Valtteri Bottas will start 16th ahead of Sergio Perez.
After an encouraging step forward in the Netherlands, Aston Martin appears to be struggling once again. Fernando Alonso qualified 21st, ahead of his teammate Lance Stroll, who reached an unwanted milestone this weekend and has become the first driver in history to record 100 Q1 exits.
Few, if any, onlookers would have expected Gasly to take his maiden career pole. However, with Mercedes power and a competitive package on hand, Russell is best placed to secure a third win of the season tomorrow. Hamilton will be keen to make up for Ferrari’s slow start to the weekend and capitalise on Antonelli’s disadvantageous grid slot. By all accounts, there should be plenty to watch out for up and down the grid when the lights go out on Sunday.
