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

Pierre Gasly beat George Russell both at chess and on track Saturday, producing one of the biggest upsets of the Formula One season by taking his first career pole position at the Italian Grand Prix. The Alpine driver said he won a chess match against Russell about 15 minutes before qualifying started, then converted that momentum with a decisive final flying lap at Monza. Russell, however, remained upbeat after topping practice and heads into Sunday trying to close a 59-point gap to Mercedes teammate Kimi Antonelli. Gasly, who also won at Monza in 2020 with AlphaTauri, believes staying ahead will be his race plan.