Pierre Gasly, driving for Alpha-Tauri, registered his first win in Formula One as he overcame a tough contest from Carlos Sainz to spark memorable celebrations in the sport.
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“Oh my god! What did we just do?” Those were the first reactions from a driver who had just won his first-ever Formula One Grand Prix. In a sport where one or two teams tend to dominate entire seasons, the 2020 Formula One race in Monza was one that did not live up to the script. The Championship leader was handed a penalty, the other contenders crashed. For the first time in over a decade in the sport, the top teams and their drivers did not finish in the top three of the podium.
The magnitude of the events in Monza on September 2020 was termed as a ‘wonderful day for Formula One.’ Pierre Gasly, driving for the Alpha-Tauri which had raced as Torro Rosso in the earlier decade, put on a performance for the ages as he won the Italian Grand Prix. But, it was not such a straightforward win. It was laced with plenty of luck but it was the skill of Gasly that got him a memorable win.
When the qualifying session had ended, Lewis Hamilton was on pole position and he wanted to extend his domination. The other contenders, the Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel had issues of their own. Max Verstappen was struggling with engine issues that left him in the back of the field.
The race started with Hamilton getting away neatly. But, his team-mate Valtteri Bottas struggled and dropped down the field quickly. The first major incident was Vettel, whose brake failure saw him retire from the race. However, the incident that turned the race totally was the retirement of Kevin Magnussen in the Haas. That led to the safety car being deployed but it changed the dynamics in a different way.
With the safety car being deployed, the pitlane entry was closed. However, Mercedes got a late message and they called Hamilton into the pits to change tyres. The rules clearly stated that if the pitlane entry is closed, drivers could not come into the pits and change tyres. Hamilton came out ahead but the stewards imposed a 10-second stop-go penalty on him.
When the race resumed in a normal situation, Hamilton looked to build a gap. However, on resumption, Leclerc smashed his car into the tyre barriers at high speed at the Parabolica turn. The impact saw the tyre barriers and his car being damaged. Leclerc did not suffer any major injury but the race was red-flagged. After a brief period, the race resumed. Hamilton went into the pitlane to serve his 10-second penalty. That allowed Pierre Gasly to take the race lead, ahead of Kimi Raikkonen and Carlos Sainz. On race resumption, Lance Stroll’s brakes failed and he went off the track just before the two Lesmo corners. In the course of the next laps, Gasly settled into the lead but Sainz charged through. He went past Raikkonen into the second spot and closed the gap on Gasly.
The French driver held his nerve, with Sainz maintaining the pressure. Heading into the final lap, the gap between the two drivers was less than a second. Sainz tried to close the gap but Pierre Gasly just maintained his composure. Gasly crossed the line and the celebrations went wild. It was the first time in 24 years that a French driver had won an F1 race. Before Gasly, Olivier Panis won the 1996 Monaco Grand Prix driving for Ligier.
For the first time since the 2012 race in Hungary, there was no driver from Ferrari, Red Bull or Mercedes on the podium. For Gasly, it was the ultimate redemption. In the 2019 Brazilian Grand Prix, he had finished in the second position behind Max Verstappen. At that time, he became the youngest French driver to be on the podium of a race.
The celebrations that followed in the Alpha Tauri camp was a sight to behold. After being dropped by Red Bull last year, Gasly put on an exhibition of driving that helped him win the prestigious Italian Grand Prix. Apart from Ferrari, Alpha Tauri also had their base in Italy and it was a great return back home for the side.
After the race, Gasly was still struggling to realise the magnitude of his achievement. “The podium was already unexpected, a big, big highlight last year. I sat down, and I had a lot of things crossing my mind, obviously first of all my family, my friends, and all the people who supported me. You just remember everything you’ve been through … It was a very special moment. It’s been a crazy ride in the last few months. It’s just unbelievable, I’m still struggling to realize what we’ve just achieved,” Gasly said.
The 2020 championship was won by Lewis Hamilton as he continued his record-breaking march. But, the season’s most memorable moment was provided by Pierre Gasly and the celebrations that followed.
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