Gasly: unexpected pole
The pole position claimed by Pierre Gasly in the qualifying for the Italian Grand Prix was a real surprise for all fans, with the 30-year-old achieving this milestone on the same circuit where, six years earlier, he obtained his first and only F1 victory. Now, 29 years after the pole of another Frenchman like Jean Alesi, Gasly has also secured his first F1 pole. But how would things have been if a home driver like Andrea Kimi Antonelli had not had to push to the maximum to aim for first place?
Read more GP Italy 2026: the Qualifying report
The regret
The Bolognese was indeed aware of the penalty that will force him to start from the back of the grid for tomorrow’s race, but judging by the championship leader, the chances to fight for pole were there: “It was already planned that I would do only one lap in Q3 – he commented to Sky Sport F1 – I also had more fuel in the car, also because I had to tow George (Russell, ed). Too bad, because seeing also the time I did in Q2 with used tires today we could have fought“.
The mission
Antonelli will therefore be forced to accomplish a real feat to reach the top positions in the standings, but to do so a plan must be followed: “Tomorrow obviously there will be a lot to recover, but I believe the pace we showed in the free practice is very good, so let’s try to make a good start, to stay out of trouble in the first two chicanes, and then we will try to hammer as much as possible”.
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