Italian GP – Recap of the Qualifying: The Frenchman Pierre Gasly will start on Pole for the first time
The GP2 Series Qualifying Session took place yesterday afternoon in Monza following the Formula 1 Free Practice. And it was a Frenchman who came out on top: Pierre Gasly, DAMS driver. He will start for the first time in his career at the front of Race 1 this afternoon, ahead of Stoffel Vandoorne (ART Grand Prix), the current leader of the World Drivers' Championship, and his DAMS teammate, the British driver Alex Lynn.
Pierre Gasly has truly taken a significant step forward in his first GP2 series season. The Qualifying session was brilliant for the young Frenchman, particularly at the very end of the session: he put in a strong effort 5 minutes before the end to lead the pack. With a lap time of 1:31:272, he is two-tenths ahead of Mitch Evans (Russian Time) in the standings, who will start from the back of the grid due to a penalty. Considering the tumultuous weekend at Spa, where the Red Bull junior driver was involved in a high-speed collision at Blanchimont with Daniel De Jong, this result is a great relief!
Interviewed after the session, Pierre Gasly emphasized the good behavior of his car: « The team did a very good job with the car, I felt very comfortable right from the Free Practice session this morning; I thus had this confidence, which I didn’t necessarily have in other races, to go for a result. »
In any case, our young tricolor prospect was focused on the Race since yesterday afternoon and the outcome of the Qualifications:
« We need to have a good race! I really want this first win of the season because we need a very good result. The confidence is with us anyway: I am now very focused on the race! »
However, he will need to be wary of the insatiable Stoffel Vandoorne, already a five-time winner this season and on his way to the title. Speaking of title contenders, let’s note that Alexander Rossi will start in 8th position.
The race promises to be very uncertain: 16 drivers were within a second of Pierre Gasly’s pole position time yesterday.
Here is the Top 10 of the Starting Grid:
1. P. GASLY (DAMS)
2. S. Vandoorne (ART Grand Prix)
3. A. Lynn (DAMS)
4. S. Sirotkin (Rapax)
5. R. Haryanto (Campos Racing)
6. A. Pic (Campos Racing)
7. R. Stanaway (Status Grand Prix)
8. A. Rossi (Racing Engineering)
9. R. Marciello (Trident)
10. N. Matshushita (ART Grand Prix)
Further on, we find the last Frenchman in the running, Norman Nato (13th, Arden International). Mitch Evans, penalized as mentioned in this article, will therefore start from 23rd place.
