– Pierre Gasly caused one of the biggest surprises of the current Formula 1 season on Saturday in Monza. But his sensational pole position was not his only victory over George Russell that afternoon. Just about 15 minutes before the start of qualifying, the Frenchman had already beaten the Mercedes driver once – in an online chess game.
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And as if this story wasn’t curious enough, Gasly apparently received unexpected assistance on his way to the first pole position of his Formula 1 career: from Charles Leclerc. His good friend had given him tips for two corners the night before. When Leclerc saw on Saturday who was suddenly in P1, only one thought crossed his mind: “Shit!”
In the last minutes of qualifying, Gasly beat his fiercest rival and favorite George Russell by just 0.060 seconds. For the Frenchman, it was the first pole position in his now nine-year Formula 1 career. After qualifying, the two revealed that Russell had not lost to Gasly for the first time that Saturday. Because just 15 minutes before the start of the time attack, they had finished an online chess game – also with Gasly as the winner.
“Huge congratulations to Pierre, because that was an incredible performance,” says Russell. “We actually finished a chess game about 15 minutes before qualifying, and he beat me. And I thought to myself: ‘Well, I guess I’ll beat you in qualifying.’ And now here we are, and he’s ahead of me again!”
Virtual chess games on Chess.com
Gasly and Russell only discovered their shared passion for chess on Friday evening. During the drivers’ briefing, they talked about it, exchanged their usernames on Chess.com afterwards, and practically immediately started playing against each other.
“Well, since the drivers’ briefing on Friday evening, I know he’s obsessed with chess,” says Gasly. “I’m obsessed with chess too. We have some in the paddock, some drivers who are obsessed. So we just exchanged our IDs on Chess.com and started a little game. One yesterday and another that dragged on until today.”
Just before qualifying, Gasly was already doing quite well on the virtual chessboard: “I have to say, I felt pretty confident before qualifying because I was taking one piece after another from him,” the Frenchman says.
Then Gasly’s performance coach Ben Thorne intervened – and more or less predicted to his protégé that his moment of success wouldn’t last long: “Just as a funny story: Ben said to me: ‘Okay, here you catch George, but in a few minutes he’ll catch you.’ And I just said: ‘Yeah, piss off.'”
The prophecy, as is well known, did not come true: “It turned out pretty well. So it was fun. I think we are very competitive, and whether on or off the track: we have to find our little duels everywhere we can.”
Chess is no longer an unusual hobby among Formula 1 drivers. Ferrari drivers Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc also regularly play against each other, and Carlos Sainz is also considered an enthusiastic player. And of all people, Leclerc plays a very different role in the story of Gasly’s sensational Monza pole.
Leclerc’s special role in Gasly’s pole
The Monegasque is a close friend of Gasly and was among the first drivers to congratulate him after qualifying. When Gasly arrived in Parc fermé behind the board with the big number 1, Leclerc immediately made his way to him. Because he had not expected this pole position either.
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Gasly’s best time at the wheel of the Mercedes-powered Alpine initially came out of nowhere. In the three practice sessions, the A526 had not shown any extraordinary speed that would have indicated a serious attack on pole position.
However, the picture changed quickly in qualifying. Gasly already set the fastest time in Q1 and finished fourth in Q2. By now, it was clear that the Alpine driver definitely had the potential to fight for a place in the front rows.
In his last attempt in Q3, Gasly went one better: he actually secured his first Formula 1 pole position – and snatched it right from the nose of the actual favorite Russell.
Leclerc later revealed to Canal+ that he had even helped Gasly a little during the drivers’ briefing on Friday evening. They had talked about certain sections of the track, and Gasly had asked his friend for tips for corners 6 and 7.
At that time, Leclerc had no reason to assume that he might be helping a direct competitor for pole position: “I’m really happy for Pierre. Yesterday at the briefing we talked, and he asked me for a few tips for corners 6 and 7,” says Leclerc.
“And I said: ‘Well, normally Pierre and I don’t really fight each other often.’ So we always exchange a few tips. And when I saw today that he got pole, I thought: ‘Shit!’ That’s exactly what I immediately told him when I went to his car.”
Gasly’s first pole: Everyone is happy for him …
Behind the joking regret was above all genuine joy for his friend’s success. Leclerc not only praised Gasly’s driving skill afterwards but also Alpine’s achievement in putting everything together perfectly on a decisive Saturday. Especially under the current technical regulations, such a perfect execution can have particularly big effects.
“I’m really very happy for Pierre – he deserves it. He’s an extremely good driver, and today, in the lap where everything had to come together and they had to get the maximum out of the car, they just did a perfect job. And with these cars, that pays off.”
“Because they clearly don’t have the best car on the grid. But when you do everything perfectly, it adds up with these cars and makes a much bigger difference than before. That’s why it’s definitely great to see him on pole. I’m really happy for him.”
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So Gasly’s Saturday in Monza became one of those stories where suddenly everything fits together within a few hours. First, he took one piece after another from Russell on Chess.com. Then he took the pole position from him on the racetrack. And even a few well-meant tips from his friend Leclerc turned out to be more valuable in the end than he would have liked …
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