Pierre Gasly described his maiden Formula 1 pole position as “perfect execution” after ending a nine-year wait for his first pole during qualifying at the 2026 F1 Italian GP.
The Alpine driver has so far endured a rollercoaster weekend, arriving at Monza with frustration as the FIA International Court of Appeal (ICA) reinstated his 2026 F1 Monaco GP penalties, causing him to lose his podium. Gasly also missed FP1, as rookie Paul Aron took his seat for the session. However, he returned during FP2 and finished the session in P14 before improving and taking P9 in FP3.
Qualifying, however, marked a remarkable turn in Gasly’s fortune. The Frenchman was fastest in Q1, claimed P4 in Q2, and ultimately created history in Q3 by taking his maiden F1 pole with an impressive time of 1:21.786.
Monza remains a “special place” for Gasly
2026 marks Gasly’s ninth season in Formula 1 as the Frenchman made his F1 debut in 2017 before taking on a Toro Rosso full-time seat in 2018. From 2018 onwards, Gasly has switched teams four times, driving for Toro Rosso, Red Bull Racing, AlphaTauri, and now Alpine. However, a key moment in his career remains his maiden win, which notably arrived at the Monza International Autodrome in 2020.
Reflecting on the significance of his pole during the 2026 F1 Italian GP post-qualifying press conference, Gasly admitted that the achievement carried even more weight given the Frenchman’s long F1 career.
“Yeah, I mean, I think I acquired a lot of emotions. I’m just extremely happy for the whole team. I’m extremely happy with our performance. It’s been nine years I’m in Formula One. I’m trying to give my best absolutely every single weekend and it’s not every time we get a car to fight for pole position and today it was the case.
“And yeah, I’m really, really happy, really proud to have seized this chance and make it work,” he continued. “So, it was a heck of a lap. We’ve been on it since the first lap in Q1. It’s been feeling good. And yeah, nine years waiting for that moment, that feeling. I got my first win here in Monza and now I get my first pole position. So, definitely a special place to me.”
Beyond his expectations
Gasly has so far endured an impressive 2026 F1 campaign, claiming points in all but three Grand Prix. However, his early-season point-scoring streak came to an end when Alpine‘s progress stalled in Austria. Between Spielberg and Budapest, Gasly and teammate Franco Colapinto managed just four points between them, causing Alpine to fall behind it’s midfield rivals. Monza, however, has marked a clear turnaround, with Gasly taking pole and Colapinto finishing P8.
With this in mind, Gasly admitted that his performance has greatly exceeded his expectations:
“No, yeah, definitely not. I mean, Monza is a bit of unique track as we know it. But I mean, no, it definitely exceeded all ours expectations. But since this morning, I think the pace has been better. We managed to make a good step, from P3 to Quali and I think slightly bigger than the other guys around us. And yeah, straight from Q1, we were a bit surprised to see us up there. As in mind, our target was Q3.
“But then I think I was P1 in Q1, then P4 in Q2. I didn’t want to get too excited but then first run in Q3, I think I was third again. And then I felt, okay, well, I really have a shot at it. And as I said, it’s probably the first time I really get a true chance and yeah, try to leave everything I had out there. It was quite hectic through, like through, Ascari and Parabolica. I don’t think there was, yeah, definitely much in there. And crossing the line, I knew it will be, yeah, one of these laps that will be rewarded. But to the point to get to the pole position, I didn’t expect that. So yeah, very, very pleased.”
“Very proud of my team”: Gasly on his pole at the Italian GP
Gasly’s pole lap was executed in the final moments of Q3. Despite Mercedes’ George Russell initally claiming provisional pole with a 1:21.846 that included a purple middle sector, Gasly’s speed saw him improve throughout the first two sectors to cross the line fastest.
Asked whether he would consider it his best lap in Formula 1, Gasly noted that it is difficult to make such a comparison.
“I mean, it’s not my first race in F1. It’s too many and I don’t remember all of them. Yeah, I don’t know. It’s definitely one of these laps that I’ll put up there. Yeah, I’m just happy, man. I’m just happy for the team. And also, the whole weekend, a lot of emotions, everything going on, etc. So just trying to stick at doing my job the best I can. And that’s what we did. That’s what we did today. So very, very pleased and very proud of my team.”
Eyes on Sunday’s race and pace
Looking ahead to Sunday’s 53-lap 2026 F1 Italian GP, Gasly remained cautious about Alpine’s chances of challenging for victory, briefly joking that the team’s pace was something to worry about on race day.
“That’s a problem for tomorrow.”
He added: “I mean, it’s going to be obviously, you know, great… I’m in the best position, right? I’m starting first. I got no one ahead of me. I just got to focus on my driving. And I know what it looks like having no one around this track. So that’s a good advantage and probably the best place to do it.”
“But then, yeah, it’s going to be a long race. I think our… And I feel I actually felt quite good. Obviously, not to the pace of these guys around us. But again, we seem to have picked up more pace from yesterday to today. So we’ll obviously give our best shot and see what we can get out of it. But yeah, I’m excited.”
With the Monaco podium decision still remaining a key part of his weekend, Gasly was also asked whether the removal of the podium plays a key role in his motivation. However, the Alpine driver briefly responded:
“I mean, I don’t think I can say much about this. And all I can say is, it’s not a nice situation. So not ideal. Obviously, I try to use everything I can into something positive and extra motivation. But I think I could have dealt without it this weekend. Yeah, that’s all I’ll say.”
“The perfect execution”: Gasly on where he found the pace for pole
Discussing where he found the pace needed for pole, Gasly explained that while Alpine made a few set-up changes for FP3, a crucial part of their performance remained the team’s execution and the use of the tow. They were 9th and 10th in the final practice session.
“No, actually, I mean, I didn’t drive in P1. Yesterday in P2, things felt decent. But, for top ten, I think we made a few tweaks for P3, which, again, gave me a bit more confidence. And in practice, I’ve never really had any tow’s. So we knew that there was a bit more on the table in the practice sessions. And then I think it was a very good execution from the team, always putting me in a great position on track, managing the gap as best we could, really.
“So I think my last lap, I managed to target, slightly over 2.5 seconds behind Lewis. I knew he was going to be fast and sort of, like, drag me with him. So I think it was perfect execution,” he highlighted, as he maximised the slipstream effect.
“The car balance is probably one of the best I’ve had so far this year. It really gave me the confidence to, attack all these corners and sliding around and playing around with the car. And we managed to make it work in that last run when everything mattered. So I think it’s not down to, obviously, one simple parameter. I think everybody did a very good job and we’ve been rewarded for it.”
A long time coming
Reflecting on his immediate reaction after crossing the chequered flag, Gasly shared just how long he had waited for another opportunity to fight for a pole in Formula 1.
“It’s been a long time. It’s been a long time since I did a pole position. So yeah, probably, I don’t know, Super Formula or Formula 2. So, yeah, Formula 1 is quite tough because you work as hard as you can to try to put your best performance out there. And as I said, in nine years, I was never really in a position to get a shot at it. I think the closest I got was in Qatar some years ago, but never really had the car that allowed me to fight up there.
“And today, I think, to be fair, was probably the first time. And it’s just such a nice feeling knowing that you’re in the mix. And all these last few hundreds you’re going to squeeze out of that last lap potentially going to be rewarded because sometimes one of those laps will barely get us to Q3.”
He added: “Today, I was very lucky and I’m super grateful to have had the car, the car that I had and gave me the chance. But yeah, when I passed the line, honestly, it was the same as last time. I just shouted. I have no idea what I said, but probably made absolutely no sense. I just screamed on the radio and just pure happiness, a lot of emotions and extremely happy for my team.”
Zandvoort upgrades bring greater promise
After enduring four difficult rounds before the summer break, Alpine entered the 2026 F1 Dutch GP with a major eight-part upgrade package. The changes proved positive, as the Frenchman managed to claim P10 during the Zandvoort race. Though, the progress made by the team has now become even clearer at 2026 F1 Italian GP, with Gasly claiming pole and Colapinto entering Q3.
Gasly highlighted the gains that the upgrade has already delivered at Zandvoort, while also explaining its impact on his confidence in his car.
“Absolutely not, yeah. I mean, the package brought us a lot of performance already in Zandvoort. We saw we were a lot more competitive. And I think it’s also like sort of giving me a little bit more of what I need inside the car in terms of pushing my entries, being able to come into the corner, having a bit more consistent feeling with the car. So no, the package definitely brought us good performance. Again, never imagined that we’ll be in that position following Zandvoort.”
Searching for his second win
Starting from pole, Gasly will line up alongside Russell on the front row for Sunday’s 2026 F1 Italian GP. Six years after claiming his maiden F1 victory at the same circuit, the Alpine driver will now look to repeat his 2020 success from the front of the grid.
“That’s a very good question,” he began, when asked how he will stay at the front of the pack. “My plan is to stay first as long as I can, can be sure. How long is that going to be? I have no idea. And my focus is going to be on my driving and making no mistakes and making the best out of what I have. I’m obviously really hoping we can stick to that position. But as we know, it’s racing. Time will tell us. And I’m just going to make sure I do my work as I always do. On Saturday night, I come as prepared as I can tomorrow and give it my best chance.”
