DRIVE OF THE YEAR

Pierre Gasly Alphatauri

The Italian Grand Prix

Pierre Gasly’s unlikely first victory in F1 was the perfect example of taking your opportunities when they arise. Yes, Gasly was fortunate to make a pitstop at the perfect time – just before the Safety Car was scrambled to get Kevin Magnussen’s broken Haas away from the pit entry – and yes, Gasly was lucky to get the benefit of a penalty for Lewis Hamilton stopping while the pitlane was closed, and then to get a free choice of tyres for the restart after Charles Leclerc crashed at Parabolica and brought out red flags.

But Gasly still had his work cut out at Monza. The Racing Point of Lance Stroll was better placed to take advantage of Hamilton’s penalty, but Stroll messed up his own restart from second on the reformed grid. The Alfa Romeos of Antonio Giovinazzi and Kimi Räikkönen restarted on soft-compound tyres, while Gasly’s Alphatauri was on mediums, so they were a real threat from behind as the race got back under way.

Gasly dealt with all that by making a superb getaway from third on the grid, almost challenging Hamilton for the lead as they rounded the first chicane, then defending his position from Räikkönen at the second chicane. When Hamilton took his stop/go penalty, Gasly took the lead.

But there were still 25 laps to run and Carlos Sainz, whose Mclaren was fast all weekend and genuinely qualified third, carved his way past Stroll and the two Alfas then began to hunt Gasly’s slower car down. Come the start of the final lap, Sainz had use of DRS and a run on Gasly approaching the first chicane, but the Alphatauri driver held firm to win by less than half a second.

“Thanks to all the F1 fans who voted for me. I’m really happy about it. It was the highlight of the season. It was an extremely intense race, there were a lot of things going on between the Safety Car, the red flag, the restart, and the laps that I had to lead with Carlos really fast behind me. It was an exciting time, and a lot of emotions crossing the line and getting this first win in Formula 1, which was a dream since I was a kid.”

Pierre Gasly