Pierre Gasly felt he was “robbed” on Friday after losing his podium from June’s Monaco Grand Prix but turned it around in the most remarkable fashion with pole position for the Italian Grand Prix. Just one day after the FIA International Court of Appeal reinstated Gasly’s pit lane speeding penalties, the Alpine driver hit back with his maiden Formula 1 pole. It is one of the biggest shocks in the history of F1 and, six years after winning his only race to date, also coming at Monza, Gasly has the opportunity to avenge, what he feels, was a wrong judgement call on Friday. “It’s been nine years I’m in Formula 1, trying to, give my best absolutely every single weekend and it’s not every time we get a car to fight for pole position,” said Gasly.
“Today it was the case and, yeah, I’m really, really happy, really proud to have seized this chance and to make it work. It was a heck of a lap.” Gasly has always shown plenty of emotion in and out of the car but was furious after finding out McLaren and Red Bull’s appeals of the Monaco race result led to the return of his two five-second time penalties for speeding. In June, Alpine had successfully won a right of review that saw the penalties removed as they proved Gasly was not speeding due to an incorrect measurement of the pit lane distance. Gasly told Canal+ that “we’re being robbed” and “I don’t think this is going to end here” while Alpine chief Flavio Briatore questioned the relationship between the reigning constructors’ champions and a judge at the FIA’s International Court of Appeal (ICA).
The ICA responded to Briatore’s comments on Saturday and stated they are “confident in the soundness of the proceedings and the integrity of the judges”. Nevertheless it certainly fired Gasly up and he produced one of the best laps in his nine-year F1 career, admitting the situation regarding the appeal was “not nice” but something he tried to use. “I try to use everything I can into something positive and, extra motivation, but I think I could have dealt without it this weekend. That’s all I’ll say,” he said.
Alpine managing director Steve Nielsen added to Sky Sports F1: “When you think what the mood was in the camp when we got the result from Monaco, which honestly is going to annoy me for the rest of my life, it’s a nice way to bounce back with pole position. It’s lovely.” Several drivers congratulated Gasly on his pole, including George Russell who will start on the front row in Sunday’s race. Russell revealed he was playing chess with Gasly before qualifying and the Alpine driver also beat him in their game. “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,” he said.
“So, yeah, huge congrats to him. Pierre and Alpine have been super-fast even from Q1.” Gasly’s only win so far in F1 came at the 2020 Italian Grand Prix – one year after his close friend Anthoine Hubert died and now he has another unexpected chance for a second victory. The Alpine has been very quick in the straights in Monza thanks to the benefit of a Mercedes power unit, but the team also have a low-drag car which is strong aerodynamically. Monza is an energy-rich track, so there is expected to be different power unit deployment strategies at play which will lead to the yoyo style of racing we saw earlier this year.
It may give Gasly a chance to keep Russell behind, or stick with him if the Mercedes driver is ahead. Asked by Sky Sports F1 whether he could win, Gasly said: “Why not? I can be sure I’ll do everything I can tonight, coming prepared for tomorrow. “The good thing is, I know what it looks like not having anyone in front of you on this track, so at least if there is a place to start on pole, I’m glad it’s here.” With championship leader Kimi Antonelli starting at the back due to grid penalties, a win for Russell would see him make significant inroads into his 59-point deficit to his Mercedes team-mate.
“It’s going to be an interesting fight with Pierre as well. I think they’ve got a car that’s got some good straight-line speed, which will be nice for them in the race,” he said. “I don’t really know where the fight is tomorrow, but, confident I’ve got the pace to go for the win.” Sunday September 67.10am: F3 Feature Race8.40am: F2 Feature Race10.40am: Porsche Supercup Race12.30pm: Grand Prix Sunday: Italian GP build-up2pm: THE ITALIAN GRAND PRIX4pm: Chequered Flag: Italian GP reaction5pm: Ted’s Notebook Formula 1 is at Monza for Ferrari’s home race at the Italian Grand Prix with Sunday’s race live at 2pm on Sky Sports F1.
