Pierre Gasly Says Monza Pole Brings New Belief and Motivation to Alpine Ahead of Madrid

• Pierre Gasly says his maiden pole position at Monza has given Alpine new belief and motivation heading into Madrid
• The Frenchman says the result ended a 17-year wait for a pole position at Alpine’s Enstone factory
• Gasly also spent time with football great Zinedine Zidane in Madrid ahead of the inaugural Spanish Grand Prix at the Madring

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A 17-Year Wait Finally Over

Pierre Gasly says his shock pole position at Monza has given Alpine a boost of confidence the team can carry into this weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix, the first to be held at Madrid’s new Madring circuit.

Gasly’s maiden Formula 1 pole came as one of the biggest surprises of the season, a turnaround for an Enstone-based team that spent much of 2025 near the back of the grid. Speaking on Thursday’s media day in Madrid, Gasly said the result had lifted spirits across the whole operation.

“Everyone Was Buzzing”

“It meant a lot to all the team, because it’s not like we’ve had easy weekends, especially coming from last year into 2026,” he said. “We put a lot of effort into this year’s car, and to actually get the reward from all that hard work from everyone was incredible.

“The smiles I could see on the faces in the garage, all the people at the factory, everyone was buzzing. I’m very pleased for all of them that we were able to do it.”

Gasly said the pole had done more than lift morale for one weekend. It had shown the team what’s possible when everything comes together.

“It just brings that extra confidence and boost of motivation that if we actually get everything right, this type of result, which seems unachievable, is actually possible,” he said. “I think it definitely brings belief and motivation to try to do even better and repeat this type of performance.”

“I told the guys it’s been 17 years since there was a pole for Enstone, and I’m not waiting another 17 years until we do another one,” Gasly said. “So it’s a great boost of motivation, and hopefully we can repeat that in the near future.”

How the Pole Came Together

Gasly topped every session across qualifying at Monza, leading the times in Q1 before going fastest in Q3 to claim his first pole, six years on from his first F1 win at the same circuit in 2020. Alpine Managing Director Steve Nielsen credited an upgrade package first introduced at Zandvoort, plus a well executed tow strategy for Gasly and teammate Franco Colapinto, for the result.

“We put a big upgrade on Pierre’s car in Zandvoort. That’s also on Franco’s car here,” Nielsen said. “I don’t think we quite got the best out of the package in Zandvoort, it’s a bit of a quirky circuit, but we’ve come here and the car is responding very well.

“We got the gaps right, we got the tows right. The drivers didn’t make a mistake, and the lap time’s clearly in the car, as both cars were quite quick.”

Nielsen also praised Gasly directly, calling the Frenchman a “class act” who delivers when the car allows it.

“If you give him the machine, he’ll deliver,” Nielsen said. “We failed to do that a few times last year, and we haven’t always given him the most competitive machinery this year, but when we have, he’s delivered, particularly earlier in the season.”

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A Track Nobody Has Raced On

Attention now turns to a circuit none of the drivers have raced on competitively. The Madring features high-speed, banked corners across a layout that’s entirely new to the grid, and Gasly said the challenge ahead is as much about learning the track as building on Monza’s result.

“It’s going to be a proper racing track,” he said. “I have no idea about the racing yet, but driving-wise in the simulator it was incredible, so I’m excited to see what it’s like in real life.”

Advice From Zizou

Ahead of the weekend, Gasly also spent time with footballing great Zinedine Zidane, filming a project together in Madrid. He said the France legend, who now coaches the French national team, had passed on some advice off the back of Alpine’s Monza form.

“I’m a big fan of Zizou, so it’s always nice,” Gasly said. “He’s such a nice guy, and it’s always great to actually have access to him. He’s now the coach of our national team, so you know how much I love football. I was asking questions and trying to get a few bits of information on what’s coming.”

Carrying It Into a New Chapter

Alpine arrive in Madrid on the back of their best qualifying result of the Enstone era, at a track where a full weekend’s running has never taken place. Gasly’s pole came alongside a strong showing from Colapinto, who Nielsen praised for his own contribution to the team’s Monza turnaround, and Alpine will be hoping the same combination of car, drivers and preparation can translate into a competitive weekend on a layout nobody on the grid has raced before.

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• Williams reveal throwback F1 livery for inaugural Madring Spanish GP
• Carlos Sainz Warns F1’s New Madrid Circuit Is Set for ‘Safety Cars, Red Flags and Yellow Flags’

Written by

Jack Renn

Jack Renn is an editor at F1 Chronicle and a veteran motorsport journalist with 25 years of experience covering Formula 1 and international motorsport. A member of the Association Internationale de la Presse Sportive (AIPS), the global body representing accredited sports journalists, Jack has spent his career reporting from paddocks and press rooms across the F1 calendar. His work spans race analysis, technical insight, and in-depth features, giving readers authoritative coverage grounded in decades of firsthand experience at the highest level of the sport.

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