There are magical days, but there are also special places. Monza is one of them for Pierre Gasly. Six years after his triumph with Alpha Tauri, in what was one of the most unpredictable Formula 1 races ever, the Frenchman took the first pole position of his career in the most unexpected way possible. Even Alpine itself had not predicted that it could get involved in the fight for the very top positions, especially considering that the target at the start of Saturday had been to make the top 10 in qualifying.

The final classification was much more favourable than anyone could have expected, but this was not a pole position produced by chance. It was deserved and earned on track. Certainly, the slipstreaming games played their part, and it cannot be denied that Mercedes realistically had more margin with George Russell had he not been involved in a fracas with Max Verstappen on his final attempt. But you have to capitalise on such opportunities. That is exactly what Alpine did.

The A526 is a car that, particularly in the configuration brought to Monza, generates relatively little aerodynamic drag compared with other teams, and that undoubtedly helps on the long straights. Even in practice, it was possible to see that the Enstone team was recording excellent top speeds on the straights. The low-downforce package also featured an old acquaintance: the rear wing that opens in reverse, causing the two flaps to collapse. This solution had been seen in testing and during the first three races of the season before being set aside in favour of a more conventional opening mechanism.

On a circuit like Monza, however, all those additional elements aimed at generating more downforce were not considered necessary and were removed, effectively returning to the very first specification from the beginning of the year. That version was considered more efficient, including in its interaction with the diffuser.