“It’s always a game of cat and mouse here” – Pierre Gasly

Pierre Gasly continued his incredible form this season by qualifying in sixth place for the Italian Grand Prix sprint qualifying, ahead of both Scuderia Ferrari’s. Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda team-mate Yuki Tsunoda on the other hand disappointed yet again and starts seventeenth.

The Autodromo Nazionale di Monza is clearly a circuit that Gasly likes, the 2020 Italian Grand Prix winner put in a solid opening day performance around a circuit where track position is crucial. The Frenchman appears to have pace both on short and long runs, Gasly was fifth after opening free practice and even managed to make it through qualifying one having used only one set of tyres.

This crucially gave the Frenchman two sets of tyres for qualifying three, giving him more than one opportunity to qualify towards the front. Gasly is thrilled with his qualifying performance and is ready for what he expects to be a very intense sprint qualifying.

“I’m very pleased with today, I think I gave everything out there and it was a very good lap to put us in P6. We really maximised our potential, especially in Q3, where I was able to put it all together. It was tricky, but we know it’s always a game of cat and mouse here, as everyone is fighting for a tow. It was very important to get a clean lap and we managed to do that today so I’m really happy.

“Another P6 for us, I think that’s the 11th time I’ve qualified in the top six this year and it shows that the team are doing such a good job. Tomorrow is going to be 18 intense laps, trying to keep up with the guys in front, and make sure we start Sunday’s race in a strong position.”

“Track limits are the same for everyone” – Yuki Tsunoda

Rookie Yuki Tsunoda ended the opening day of the Italian Grand Prix in a disappointed mood, the Japanese youngster had done enough to make it through to qualifying two, only to have his lap deleted for exceeding track limits moments later.

Tsunoda ran wide out of the final corner on his fastest lap, exceeding track limits clearly in the process. The error proved costly as the rookie will now start sprint qualifying from seventeenth on the grid. Tsunoda is hoping that he can make some ground up in the early laps of the sprint race, but is aware that overtaking will be extremely difficult.

“I’m obviously disappointed with today, but it is what it is. Track limits are the same for everyone, so it’s just a shame I made that mistake. I think tomorrow’s Sprint Qualifying is going to be difficult as it’ll be a DRS train, so it’ll be hard to overtake, but I’ll try my best to make my way forward. I think getting a good start off the line will be really important and the best chance to overtake tomorrow.”

Credit: Rudy Carezzevoli/ Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool