What Alpine got right at Monza and everyone else got wrong
Alpine F1 driver Pierre Gasly secured a surprise pole position at the Italian Grand Prix in Monza. The result was aided by a series of errors from Mercedes, specifically involving George Russell and Kimi Antonelli during the final qualifying session.
Why it matters
It marks a rare underdog performance in Formula 1, highlighting how tactical errors and track traffic can disrupt the dominance of top-tier teams.
Formula 1 What Alpine got right at Monza and everyone else got wrong The Race Team 05 Sep 2026 — 6 min read The car that's currently sixth in the Formula 1 constructors' championship just took pole position in a straight fight in a dry qualifying session at the Italian Grand Prix.
F1 is used to freak underdog poles in mixed weather, but Pierre Gasly and Alpine's Monza achievement was something very different.
You have to go back to Pastor Maldonado's 2012 Spanish GP pole for Williams (then seventh in the championship) for an equivalent - and even that only happened because Lewis Hamilton's pole-winning McLaren was excluded from qualifying. Which means perhaps the real equivalent is Giancarlo Fisichella's 2009 Belgium pole for Force India (which was on zero points for the season before that race).
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