Gasly makes his move to keep Russell in check on and off the track

MONZA, Italy, Sept 5 : Chess fanatic Pierre Gasly outmanoeuvred George Russell on and off the racetrack on Saturday as the Frenchman caused one of the biggest upsets of the Formula One season by bagging a career-first pole position at the Italian Grand Prix.

The Alpine driver beat Russell at chess before qualifying started and then produced a killer move on track at Monza with his final flying lap.

Gasly's gambit for Sunday's race remains to be seen, with Russell fastest in practice and hungry for a victory to narrow the 59-point gap to his Mercedes teammate Kimi Antonelli in the championship battle, but he has already exceeded expectations.

The Frenchman's only previous win was also at Monza and against the odds, in 2020 with minnows AlphaTauri (now Racing Bulls), but the trend at least is in his favour.  

CHESS GAME ENDED 15 MINUTES BEFORE TRACK ACTION

"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," said Russell, who qualified alongside on the front row with the Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton right behind.

Gasly explained some of the background.

"Since the (drivers') briefing last night, I figured out that he’s obsessed with chess. I am obsessed with chess. We have a few in the paddock, a few drivers, obsessed with it," he told reporters.

"So, we’ve just exchanged our ID on Chess.com and we’ve had a little game going on. One yesterday, another one that carried on to today. And I must say, before the quali, I felt pretty confident because I was picking piece after piece."

The Frenchman said his performance coach then told him "You’re getting George here, but he’s going to get you in a few minutes.” 

"Turned out that it worked out well... I think we are very competitive and, whether it’s on the track or off the track, we do need to find our little battles everywhere we can."

Sunday will be a big one, with Gasly and Russell both having the same Mercedes engine at their disposal but the latter's car far more competitive so far this season. Mercedes are well clear at the top of the standings, Renault-owned Alpine sixth overall.

"I’m in the best position, right? I’m starting first, got no-one ahead of me," said Gasly.

"It’s going to be a long race... we seem to have picked up more pace from yesterday to today. So, you know, we’ll obviously give our best shot and see what we can get out of it.

"My plan is to stay first as long as I can. How long is that going to be? I have no idea." 

Gasly's weekend started with disappointment and anger after an appeal court ruled against Alpine and stripped the Frenchman of third place in Monaco last June.

"All I can say is it’s not a nice situation, not ideal. Obviously, I try to use everything I can into something positive and, you know, extra motivation, but I think I could have dealt without it this weekend," he said.