Source :- PERTH NOW NEWS
Pierre Gasly delivered the shock of the season by taking the first pole position of his career for Sunday’s Italian Grand Prix.
George Russell, widely expected to claim a much-needed pole in his world championship quest, had to settle for second on Saturday, pipped to top spot by Gasly by just 0.060 seconds.
McLaren’s Oscar Piastri finished third but faces an anxious wait over his grid position after being called before the stewards, who were investigating whether he impeded Red Bull’s Liam Lawson in Q2.
Piastri slowed to allow Lawson’s teammate Max Verstappen through but delayed the New Zealander when he slotted in ahead of him.
Gasly’s improbable triumph arrived a day on from his Alpine boss Flavio Briatore accusing an FIA judge of having a “working relationship” with McLaren after the British team’s appeal led to the Frenchman being stripped of his podium from June’s Monaco Grand Prix.
Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton fourth and fifth respectively for Ferrari.
Championship leader Kimi Antonelli took seventh but will start his home race from the back of the grid as he serves an engine penalty.
World champion Lando Norris arrived in Italy with consecutive victories under his belt but looks almost certain to miss out on a hat-trick after he could manage only ninth.
With Antonelli starting Sunday’s 53-lap race from the rear, Russell knew this event would hand him a golden chance to eat into his Mercedes teammate’s 59-point championship lead.
But the Englishman will have to see off Gasly’s unexpected challenge to claim a full quota of points in what could prove a pivotal contest in the title race with 11 rounds still to go.
Hamilton spoke about his dream of winning in Monza for a record sixth time and a first for Ferrari in the build-up to the Italian team’s home event.
But the seven-time world champion endured a difficult afternoon.
At one stage, Hamilton’s presence in Q3 appeared in grave danger after he could set only the 10th quickest time. However, his blushes were spared by just one- thousandth of a second.
It was an unsatisfactory afternoon for Red Bull with Verstappen – who claimed his car was “broken” and “undriveable” – three-tenths off the pace in sixth.
But there were no such concerns for Gasly as he flourished in his Alpine.
“I have been waiting for that one,” yelled the Frenchman – whose sole victory of his Formula One life arrived in Monza six years ago – over the radio.
Fernando Alonso qualified 21st, with only Aston Martin teammate Lance Stroll slower.
