From P14 on the grid, Pierre Gasly rescued a good result from the 2026 F1 Canadian GP as he finished P8 on Sunday.
0.330s slower than teammate Franco Colapinto in Q2 on Saturday, the Argentinian driver progressed to Q3 and qualified P10, with the Frenchman back on row seven.
On the opening lap as he battled Gabriel Bortoleto — who started on inters — the 2020 Italian GP winner cut the final chicane. With the Brazilian already struggling on them as the track dried out, it allowed Bearman and Alonso to get by as well before Gasly could eventually give the place back out of turn 2.
After that, he would regain the spots from the Aston Martin and Haas drivers. Although Lando Norris did overtake him, he was P10 on lap 12. The Audis and Piastri dropping their inters for dry tyres and Lindblad not starting put him in that position.
The DNFs for Russell and the defending World Champion moved him up to P8. Despite catching Liam Lawson in the closing stages after a gap that was over 8s at one stage, Gasly could not quite find a way by.
Pierre Gasly on good damage limitation at 2026 F1 Canadian GP
Speaking in the print media pen post-race, the driver of car #10 reflected on a solid recovery mission in the 68-lap contest.
“I would say it was a good damage limitation.
“It was not really a straightforward race with the start and the conditions. Quite a lot happened, quite different conditions.
“But I think overall, yeah, I’m pleased. Starting 14th, it was a struggle the whole weekend […] to finish 8th and score more points, it’s good.
“But yeah, still we know with the team what we’ve got to work on before Monaco, it’s pretty clear, and it’s going to be an important few days coming to make sure we get performance back for Monaco.”
Struggles with tyre temperatures during 2026 F1 Canadian GP weekend
A common theme across the grid last weekend was trying to get tyres in the operating window, whether it was a Mercedes or a Cadillac. Sunday was cold, making it even harder.
Gasly explained how tough it was, especially at the start as it was a tiny bit damp and he had inter runners around him.
“Yeah, I must say it was extremely difficult, something which was pretty tough in qualifying, and especially at the start with the low pace, it was tough.
“I can’t remember the last time we had so many different compounds starting a race, so I was surrounded by guys on inters, some guys on soft, and it was pretty hectic.”
The problems continue
Following very strong performances at Suzuka and Shanghai, Pierre Gasly has struggled in Miami and at the F1 Canadian GP since Alpine upgraded their 2026 car.
Asked if he felt it was better behind the wheel than in Miami, he did not feel an improvement.
“No, it’s the same thing.
“So yeah, since Miami first lap in practice [there has been an issue]. I mean, we see it on the data, we’re pretty clear on what’s happening, we’re just going to understand exactly where it comes from. It’s going to be part of the work we’ll have to do ahead of Monaco.
“So yeah, I think it’s why I’m pretty happy with today, from 14th and finishing 8th, but still wasn’t straightforward.”
Alpine and Pierre Gasly trying to solve it
During FP1 in Miami, one of the most noticeable things was the massive wheelspin and traction struggles Pierre Gasly had out of turn 17. It continued throughout that round.
Over the course of the two Sprint weekends in Miami and Montréal, the only time Gasly has beaten Colapinto was in the Sprint race in the US.
Earlier in the season, it was Colapinto struggling with issues regarding the A526 and was well off the pace of his teammate in Australia and Japan. Now, the complete opposite is happening.
Pierre Gasly revealed the tests that took place at the 2026 F1 Canadian GP to try and figure out what is going on.
“I think we’re confident that now we’ve made a few tweaks with our upgrades since Miami, which make them work now, so I think we’re pretty happy with that.
“On my side we’ve tested quite a lot of things, parts-wise in the Sprint, and also again today I was running the older floor, etc. So I think overall as a team we’ve got good understanding coming out of the weekend, and we can exclude the parts.
“But yeah, it still will be important to analyse deeper and understand what’s the target back at the factory, how to get that performance back.”
Work still needed to find the exact reason
Asked if he felt something was fundamentally wrong with the car, Gasly did not necessarily feel that way. Nonetheless, digging needs to be done to try and find out why the last two events have been so tricky for him.
“At the moment, I can just feel what I feel, I can just see on the data what we see in terms of difference, whether it’s a component or whether something else set-up-wise, it’s a very small difference, which doesn’t explain the difference we’re seeing, so I don’t think it’s set-up.
“It can be many things, so I think we need more data, we need to get back to the factory, get the car back.
“And yeah, just understand a bit more from it, because there is performance, but since Miami clearly something that has changed in terms of my traction potential. We need to get it back to where it was.”
Following the 2026 F1 Canadian GP, Pierre Gasly is P8 in the Drivers’ Standings on 20 points. Alpine hold P5 in the Constructors’ Championship.
