Alpine's Gasly seizes first career F1 pole ahead of Russell at Monza

BREAKING: Pierre Gasly seizes his first career F1 pole at Monza, stunning the frontrunners with Alpine to line up ahead of George Russell.

Pierre Gasly just took his first ever Formula One pole, at Monza of all places.

An Alpine on pole at the temple of speed, and there he is, hustling that car through qualifying like the lap owed him money. Nobody had Alpine anywhere near the front this weekend, and Gasly went and beat the lot of them.

George Russell lines up second, and he'll fancy his chances into turn one, because a Mercedes with a tow at Monza is a very dangerous animal. But Gasly has won from nowhere before, remember that Monza victory in the AlphaTauri. This track clearly likes him back.

So tomorrow it's a man in his first pole position, at the fastest circuit on the calendar, with faster cars breathing down his neck for fifty three laps. Alpine haven't given him many gifts lately. He just gave himself one.

This is Liu Yang, reporting for HIT.