(Motorsport-Total.com) – Formula 1 is known for writing the craziest scripts, but what happened within Alpine’s camp in just 30 hours was, even by Formula 1 standards, a rollercoaster of emotions.
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After the team suffered a painful defeat on Friday before the International Court of Appeal (ICA) and definitively lost Pierre Gasly’s podium from Monaco, the hour of revenge on the track struck.
With a fabulous lap, Gasly sent the A526 to pole position for the Italian Grand Prix (follow live here in the ticker). Team principal Steve Nielsen experienced an emotional satisfaction at the command post that ran deeper than usual. Because even though he will “be annoyed for the rest of my life” about the Monaco result, “it is certainly a nice way to strike back with pole position.”
The Brit openly admits on Sky that there was anger in the Enstone team’s camp to turn things around so dramatically. But when asked if such a result was on the wish list, the team principal answers: “No, honestly no.”
However, the foundation had been laid in recent weeks: “We made a big upgrade to Pierre’s car in Zandvoort, which is also on Franco’s car here. I don’t think we got the best out of the package in Zandvoort – it’s a somewhat quirky track – but we came here and the car responds very well.”
Besides the aero package, every detail simply fit in qualifying at the high-speed mecca: “We got the gaps right, we got the slipstream right, the drivers made no 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 have much drag, which is very nice and helps our top speed, which everyone can see. So it will also be hard to overtake us tomorrow, which is pleasant,” he continues. “But yes, I think it fits our package without a doubt with all this high speed here.”
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At the same time, Nielsen emphasizes that a fabulous lap in Monza is always a combination of technology and executive precision in the pit lane: “The team also did a great job to get the cars running properly. It takes a lot when you leave the garage: who you are behind, when you do the lap – and today we got it all right, which is great.”
“Pierre is in a class of his own”
That it was precisely Pierre Gasly who grabbed pole position is not without a certain romance. Because six years ago he celebrated the biggest success of his career on this track with a sensational victory. “Pierre is in a class of his own,” praises Nielsen.
“If you give him the tool, he will deliver. Last year we failed to do that a few times, and we haven’t always given him the most competitive material this year. But when we did, he delivered – especially at the start of the season.”
For the entire Alpine team, this Saturday means a huge boost in motivation, which was urgently needed after the lost legal battle: “Seeing the team strike back, seeing him deliver on a track he knows well – he lives very close by in Milan – that’s wonderful,” says Nielsen.
“And of course, we must not forget Franco [Colapinto], he did a great job today.”
Nielsen, who had already announced on Friday after the verdict that the point loss was “a blow, but by no means fatal,” draws a fitting conclusion to these turbulent days: “Two or three days ago we were all down. From really deeply upset to absolutely on top in just two days – that’s amazing. We have to soak this up now and make the best of it.”
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