Mercedes ace George Russell: Two defeats against pole-setter Pierre Gasly

It was a bitter pill for Pierre Gasly to swallow on Friday afternoon. The Frenchman from the Alpine team lost his podium finish in the Monaco Grand Prix following a decision by the FIA Court of Appeal, as the four judges in Paris overturned the earlier ruling that had quashed his two 5-second penalties.

The 30-year-old made amends the following day by snatching pole position for the Italian Grand Prix. In doing so, he relegated George Russell to second place; the difference between their two strong laps at Monza was just six hundredths of a second. It was the Alpine driver’s second victory over the Mercedes veteran, as Russell revealed afterwards.

“First of all, heartfelt congratulations to Pierre – that was an incredible performance he put in,” the 28-year-old said generously. “About a quarter of an hour before qualifying began, we finished a game of chess in which he’d already beaten me. I said: ‘All right, I think I’ll beat you in qualifying.’ And now look, he’s ahead of me again!”

“I was naturally disappointed not to have secured pole position. Things didn’t quite go to plan with Verstappen at the start of the lap; I was very close, but Pierre and Alpine were also really quick,” said the seven-time Grand Prix winner

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