Just one day after the defeat in the appeals court, Pierre Gasly secured pole position at Monza: For team principal Steve Nielsen, it was the perfect consolation
As we all know, Formula 1 writes the craziest scripts, but what unfolded in the Alpine camp within just 30 hours bordered on an emotional roller coaster ride—even by Formula 1 standards.
After the team suffered a stinging defeat on Friday before the International Court of Appeal (ICA) and definitively lost Pierre Gasly’s Monaco podium finish, the moment for revenge came on the track.
With a fabulous lap, Gasly put the A526 on pole position for the Italian Grand Prix. Team principal Steve Nielsen experienced an emotional sense of satisfaction in the command center that ran deeper than usual. For even though he will be “annoyed for the rest of my life” about the Monaco result, “it’s certainly a nice way to strike back with pole position.”
Speaking candidly to Sky, the Briton admits that there was anger within the Enstone team that drove them to turn things around so dramatically. But when asked whether such a result had been on their wish list, the team principal replies: “No, honestly, no.”
However, the groundwork had been laid in recent weeks: “We made a major upgrade to Pierre’s car at Zandvoort, and it’s also on Franco’s car here. I don’t think we got the most out of the package at Zandvoort—it’s a somewhat quirky track—but we came here and the car is responding very well.”
In addition to the aero package, absolutely every detail came together perfectly in qualifying at this high-speed mecca: “We nailed the spacing, we nailed the slipstreaming, the drivers didn’t make any mistakes, and the lap time is clearly in the car, because both cars were pretty fast.”
Engine Efficiency and Operational Perfection
“Our package doesn’t generate much drag, which is great and helps our top speed—something everyone can see. So it’ll be hard to pass us tomorrow, too, which is nice,” he continues. “But yes, I think it definitely suits our package with all the high-speed sections here.”
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At the same time, Nielsen emphasizes that a fantastic lap at Monza is always a combination of technology and precision execution in the pit lane: “The team also did a great job of getting the cars running properly. There’s a lot that goes into it when you leave the garage: who you’re behind, when you run your lap—and today we got it all right, which is great.”
“Pierre is in a class of his own”
The fact that Pierre Gasly, of all people, snatched pole position has a certain romantic appeal. After all, four six years ago, he celebrated the greatest success of his career with a sensational victory on this very track. “Pierre is in a class of his own,” Nielsen praises.
“If you give him the right car, he’ll deliver. Last year we failed to do that a few times, and this year we haven’t always given him the most competitive car. But when we have, he’s delivered—especially at the start of the season.”
For the entire Alpine team, this Saturday represents a massive boost in motivation—one that was desperately needed after losing the legal battle: “Seeing the team bounce back, seeing him deliver on a track he knows well—he lives right nearby in Milan, after all—is wonderful,” says Nielsen.
“And of course, we can’t forget Franco [Colapinto] either—he did a great job today.”
Nielsen, who had already announced on Friday after the ruling that the loss of points was “a blow, but by no means fatal,” sums up these turbulent days aptly: “Two or three days ago, we were all down in the dumps. From being truly devastated to absolutely on top of the world in just two days—that’s amazing. We have to soak this in now and make the most of it.”
