2026 Italian Grand Prix Starting Grid: Penalties Shake Up the Order
Pierre Gasly snags pole for the Italian Grand Prix, edging out George Russell. A slew of penalties reshuffles the grid, with notable drivers like Oscar Piastri and Fernando Alonso facing setbacks.
Pierre Gasly will kick off the 2026 Italian Grand Prix from pole position, pulling a surprise over Mercedes' George Russell at Monza. Gasly's standout performance for Alpine sees him lead the field, while Russell will start just behind him.
Oscar Piastri originally qualified third for McLaren, but a penalty for impeding Liam Lawson in Q2 bumps him down to sixth. This shift allows the Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton to slot into third and fourth, respectively, with Max Verstappen's Red Bull rounding out the top five.
Alpine's Franco Colapinto will start seventh, followed by McLaren's Lando Norris, Racing Bulls' Arvid Lindblad, and Audi's Gabriel Bortoleto completing the top ten.
Local favorite Kimi Antonelli and Williams' Alex Albon will face the music at the back of the grid, both penalized for exceeding power unit allocations. Meanwhile, Liam Lawson finds himself starting from the pit lane after Red Bull made changes to his rear wing and suspension under parc ferme conditions.
Fernando Alonso will also start from the pit lane, thanks to overnight power unit changes on his Aston Martin.
Here's the official starting grid for the Italian Grand Prix at Monza:
| Pos. | Driver | Time | | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | Pierre Gasly | 1:21.786 | | 2 | George Russell | 1:21.846 | | 3 | Charles Leclerc | 1:22.004 | | 4 | Lewis Hamilton | 1:22.011 | | 5 | Max Verstappen | 1:22.070 | | 6 | Oscar Piastri | 1:21.966 | | 7 | Franco Colapinto | 1:22.220 | | 8 | Lando Norris | 1:22.256 | | 9 | Arvid Lindblad | 1:22.286 | | 10 | Gabriel Bortoleto | 1:22.517 |
The 2026 Italian Grand Prix begins at 1500 local time. Be sure to join our live coverage from 1400.