French Formula One driver Pierre Gasly upset the favourites to grab a stunning career-first pole position with Renault-owned Alpine at the Italian Grand Prix on Saturday.

Gasly, who won at Monza with Red Bull-owned AlphaTauri (now Racing Bulls) in 2020 and lives in nearby Milan, seized pole from Mercedes’s George Russell with his final effort and a lap of one minute 21.786 seconds — 0.060 quicker than the Briton.

“It’s been nine years trying to chase the opportunity to get a pole,” said Gasly, who was the last of the pole contenders to complete his final flying lap. “I won my first race in Monza and got my first pole at this track. It’s something special around here.”

Gasly had already hinted at something special in the earlier phases, leading Q1 and fourth fastest in Q2, and his mechanics erupted in jubilation as the pole was confirmed — a day after he had been stripped of third place at last June’s Monaco Grand Prix.

PIASTRI THIRD AND LECLERC FOURTH ON THE GRID

Russell, a title contender, hailed an incredible performance by the 30-year-old Frenchman.

“We were finishing a game of chess about 15 minutes before qualifying and he beat me there and I went ‘well, I think I will beat you in qualifying’ and here we are, he’s ahead of me again,” said the Briton.

“I was disappointed to not get pole position. It was a bit messy with (Max) Verstappen opening the lap, I did the lap very close, but Pierre and Alpine have been super fast.”

McLaren’s Oscar Piastri qualified third at the ‘Temple of Speed’ and will share the second row with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.

Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton sneaked into the final phase by the skin of his teeth — 0.001 of a second — to secure fifth place on the grid, one slot ahead of the Red Bull of old foe Verstappen, last year’s race winner.

Mercedes’s championship leader Kimi Antonelli, who is 59 points clear of Russell and Hamilton, qualified seventh but will go to the back due to engine penalties.

That will lift Alpine’s Franco Colapinto to seventh instead with McLaren’s reigning world champion Lando Norris, winner of the previous two races, eighth on the grid.

Racing Bulls’ Arvid Lindblad and Audi’s Gabriel Bortoleto completed the top 10.