Satisfaction after appeal decision: Gasly “incredibly happy” after pole

– Italy and Pierre Gasly – that seems to fit. Six years after his sensational first (and so far only) Grand Prix win in Monza, the Frenchman today on Saturday almost as surprisingly took his first pole position in Formula 1 and left the favored competition behind (follow Monza live in the ticker).

Read more Verstappen angry after Monza qualifying: The same problem again and again …

While many drivers struggled to improve in the second Q3 attempt, Gasly improved his time again to a 1:27.786 minutes and thus caught George Russell by six hundredths of a second, who had also improved shortly before and set the provisional pole time.

“I think a lot of emotions are coming together for me right now,” laughs the Frenchman. “I am just really happy for the whole team. I am extremely happy with our performance. I have been in Formula 1 for nine years now and try to give my best every single weekend.”

“You don’t get a car every time with which you can fight for pole position, but today was the case,” he says. “And yes, I am really incredibly happy and proud that I seized and used this chance. That was a damn strong lap.”

It must be said: Gasly’s best time did not come completely out of the blue. Because Alpine had already indicated in Q1 and Q2 what potential was sleeping in the A526 today. Gasly set the best time in the first section, teammate Franco Colapinto landed at least in fourth place, and in the second section there were positions four and eight.

“We managed to make a good step from the third practice to qualifying – I think a slightly bigger one than the guys around us,” says Gasly. “Right from Q1 we were a bit surprised to see ourselves up front. You have to consider: Our goal was actually Q3.”

Good performances already in Q1 and Q2

“But then it was, I think, P1 in Q1 and P4 in Q2. I didn’t want to celebrate too early, but after the first attempt in Q3 I was third again. And there I felt: Okay, I really have a real chance here,” he describes.

That it was enough for the big hit in Q3 was then a bit surprising, after all Mercedes even had a car that could provide Russell with direct slipstream assistance, while Gasly had to line up in the normal field.

“On my last lap I managed to place myself a little more than 2.5 seconds behind Lewis [Hamilton] – knowing that he would be fast and would kind of pull me along,” says Gasly, who speaks of a “perfect execution.”

The Frenchman set a personal best in all three sectors and was the first to cross the line. “When I crossed the line, I knew it was one of those laps that get rewarded,” he says. “But that it would be enough for pole position, I did not expect.”

Additional motivation after losing the podium

For Gasly, it is the crazy 180-degree emotional rollercoaster after yesterday’s disappointment that his podium place in Monaco was taken away again by the decision of the International Court of Appeal.

Read more Explained: This is why Oscar Piastri was penalized after the Monza qualifying session

F1: Grand Prix of Italy (Monza) 2026

“Of course, I try to turn everything I can into something positive – into extra motivation,” he says. “But I could have done without it this weekend.” He does not want to comment further on the Monaco case.

Team principal Steve Nielsen also sees the Friday decision as additional motivation: “It only makes you more determined to get the points back on track,” he says to Sky.

Why is Alpine suddenly so strong?

Nevertheless, one may of course ask where Alpine suddenly got the pace from. According to Gasly, the big update for the A526 in Zandvoort plays an important role. “The package already brought us an extreme amount of performance in Zandvoort. We saw there that we were much more competitive,” he says.

But that it would be capable of such a performance in Monza, Gasly had not thought. Of course, Monza is not comparable to Zandvoort, where Alpine could not even get into Q3 and was beaten in the race by an Aston Martin.

“They put together a really good qualifying car,” praises Mercedes motorsport chief Toto Wolff on Sky. “They have an enormous top speed on the straights. You know, the guys took out an extreme amount of drag. And seen over a single lap, that proved to be the recipe for success,” says the Austrian, who emphasizes, however, that Mercedes “contributed a little bit” with its engine.

How long will Gasly stay first?

The race on Sunday is, according to Wolff, a completely different matter again, even though he emphasizes taking every competitor seriously.

But Alpine is also aware that it could be difficult to carry the position to the finish on Sunday. “My plan is to stay first as long as possible, you can be sure of that. How long that will be? I have no idea,” says Gasly.

“My focus will be on my driving, on not making mistakes and getting the best out of what I have. Of course, I really hope we can hold this position. But as we know: This is racing.”

“Time will tell. I will just make sure I do my job as always, prepare as best as possible on Saturday evening and give myself the best chance tomorrow.”

Read more Formula 1 Live Ticker: Sensational Pole for Alpine and McLaren Penalty