Going into the Italian Grand Prix, of all the storylines and narratives being composed, absolutely none of them involved Pierre Gasly and Alpine.
That’s not dismissive of the French driver or the Enstone team, but Ferrari competing on home soil with a decent chance of victory and an Italian in Kimi Antonelli leading the championship was always going to take every column inch available this weekend.
So, when the FIA Court of Appeal report dropped at the start of first practice at Monza to inform the world that Gasly had lost his Monaco GP podium, a new and unexpected theme emerged. And then it snowballed.
First there was Flavio Briatore’s questioning of the integrity of one of the judges, Filippo Marchino, about connections to McLaren – one of the lead proponents in the appeal – which McLaren team principal Andrea Stella vehemently took offence to, then there was the FIA Court of Appeal statement to dismiss comments of impartiality.
It all overshadowed the Alpine message of ‘we’re disappointed but we’re going to fight back on track’ that the team initially released as it looked to move on from the saga. And to Alpine’s credit, it has done exactly that.
Having been in with a reasonable shout of reaching Q3 amongst the congested midfield on practice pace showing, Gasly topped Q1 to trigger the first sign of something special building and then duly grabbed a shock maiden pole by 0.060s from heavy favourite George Russell and Mercedes.
Pierre Gasly, Alpine
Photo by: Dom Gibbons / Formula 1 via Getty Images
From the mechanics jumping around the Alpine garage to Gasly’s screams of delight over the team radio, it was clear this one meant more than perhaps it would’ve done before Friday’s appeal outcome. It was the perfect reaction – unlike Briatore’s show in the FIA press conference.
For Alpine and Gasly to truly put the Monaco GP appeal saga behind them, following up pole with a big haul of points – say, the 13-point swing inflicted on Alpine on Friday – would ensure the 2026 Italian GP storyline would end on a real high for the Enstone squad.
But Alpine managing director Steve Nielsen feels Gasly can aim for something even bigger. When asked what the goal is for Sunday, he replied: “Try and win it.
“I think we’re going to try [to win]. Why not? We don’t need to be respectful of anybody. We’re on pole on merit. Let’s see what we can do.”
Reflecting on a whirlwind two days, Nielsen feels a strong result on Sunday regardless will be the ideal ending to a challenging few days.
“We had a blur a couple of days ago with the Monaco decision being turned around,” he said. “But I’m looking forward to stopping talking about that.
Steve Nielsen, Managing Director, Alpine
Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Sutton Images via Getty Images
“It’s amazing. It’s the best feeling we could have. And like I said, we’re going to aim high tomorrow and leave here [with] as much points as we can get.”
Gasly has taken a more pragmatic approach, acknowledging the reality of Alpine lacking the pure pace and performance of the likes of Mercedes and Ferrari, but he also didn’t dampen his victory hopes.
“My plan is to stay first as long as I can,” Gasly said. “How long is that going to be? I have no idea. My focus is going to be on my driving and making no mistakes and making the best out of what I have.
“I’m really hoping we can stick to that position [in the lead], but as we know, it’s racing. Time will tell and I’m just going to make sure I do my work as I always do, and come as prepared as I can and give it my best chance.”
Throughout Monza’s storied F1 history, surprise wins have been a theme, particularly in the modern era; Sebastian Vettel’s maiden win for Toro Rosso in 2008 (from pole), Gasly’s own first F1 win in 2020 and Daniel Ricciardo’s shock McLaren triumph in 2021 spring to mind.
Having been reportedly 1000-1 for pole, what are the odds of Gasly and Alpine taking Italian GP victory and dominating the headlines again? At the time of writing, 10-1…
