George Russell has shared how he dismissed the idea of Pierre Gasly beating him in qualifying for the Italian Grand Prix during a friendly game of chess just minutes before the start of the grid-setting session at Monza.
The Alpine driver went on to clinch a surprise pole position against all odds at the Temple of Speed, beating the Briton into second by six hundredths of a second.
It is the first pole of his career, and the first for a French driver since Jean Alesi's for Benetton at the same circuit 29 years ago.
Also the venue of Gasly's sole grand prix victory in 2020, it is Alpine's first pole since the team rebranded from Renault.
"Firstly, massive congrats to Pierre because that's an incredible performance," the Mercedes driver said after qualifying.
"We were actually finishing a game of chess about 15 minutes before qualifying, and he beat me there.
"And I thought, 'Well, I think I'll beat you in qualifying', and here we are: he's ahead of me again.
"So huge congrats to him. Of course, I was disappointed not to get the pole position. It was a bit messy with Verstappen opening the lap; I did the lap very close.
"But Pierre and Alpine have been super fast even from Q1. So happy to see them get a good result."
Get the latest F1 news from RacingNews365 directly in your Google feed! Click on the link below and you’ll see your favourite F1 website appearing even more often. That way, you’ll never miss any news, analyses, interviews, or exclusives.
Follow RacingNews365 on GoogleMost read
In this article
Never miss a thing from the Formula 1 season! Add the 2026 F1 schedule to your calendar at the touch of a button. Subscribe below and put the dates and times of every race directly on your PC or smartphone, so you don't miss a second from the new season.
Download the F1 calendar Download the F1 calendar
A variant with just the race and qualifying is also available.
Click here to download it..
Join the conversation!