Pierre Gasly has accepted full responsibility for crashing his car in Q1 and ending up 19th on the grid for Sunday’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

The first qualifying segment had only just resumed from a red flag to collect Nyck de Vries’s crashed AlphaTauri car at Turn 3 when Gasly careened into the wall at the same corner, forcing another suspension.

It was a demoralising conclusion to a difficult day for the Frenchman, who set only seven laps in first practice before his car set itself alight and forced him to stop on track.

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Alpine boss Otmar Szafnauer says he’s happy that he lost the battle for Oscar Piastri’s contract because his team has ended up with a better driver line-up.

Alpine went through a public break-up with former protĂ©gĂ© Piastri when the Australian revealed in the middle of the season that he would leave the French team’s junior program to join McLaren as a full-time driver in 2023.

Szafnauer had attempted to promote his then reserve driver into the seat vacated by Fernando Alonso only to find Piastri was committed elsewhere.

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Pierre Gasly topped the first official timed session of the 2022 Formula 1 season for AlphaTauri, leading Ferrari teammates Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz in first practice at the Bahrain Grand Prix. The Frenchman used the soft tire with around 15 minutes remaining to edge the Ferrari driver to the top time by 0.364s.

“What a lap,” exclaimed his impressed engineer. “That was nice. We get into the mojo now.”

But Ferrari’s pace was more eye-catching, for neither Leclerc nor Sainz, who was less than half a tenth further back, used the soft-compound tire yet were both comfortably within half a second of the lead. Leclerc even had time to spin his car on the red-marked rubber that would carry him to his quickest time and still finish the session second overall.

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Pierre Gasly mastered a soaking Istanbul track to top final practice at the Turkish Grand Prix ahead of Max Verstappen.

The Frenchman was among a group of drivers to set their flying laps on intermediate rubber with around 15 minutes remaining, and though Verstappen embarked on his final flyer with just 20 seconds left, the track drying all the time, he could get to within only 0.164s of Gasly’s benchmark.

Lewis Hamilton finished a lowly 18th after calling it a day with just five laps completed in the inclement weather, the Briton 3.189s adrift.

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Pierre Gasly topped final practice at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix after pole favorite Max Verstappen crashed out of the session less than halfway through.

Verstappen was only five laps into his program on the hard tire when he carried too much speed into Turn 15 on the fast run down the hill, coming to a halt with his right-front tire in the barrier.

Unable to engage reverse and anyway with a broken track rod, the devastated Dutchman left his car in situ, prompting a red flag. TV cameras caught him slumped and collecting his thoughts on a concrete block before returning to pit lane.

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AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly discusses his incredible maiden F1Âź victory at Monza, the emotion of becoming the first French winner for 24 years and his feelings on Honda’s exit, while we review the Eifel Grand Prix with Edd Straw from the-race.com.

Formula One rarely serves up races like the Italian Grand Prix, but Pierre Gasly’s win for AlphaTauri ahead of Carlos Sainz and Lance Stroll completely flipped the script.

Before this mad Monza race F1 had gone been 147 races — more than seven years — since anyone other than a Mercedes, Red Bull Racing or Ferrari driver topped the podium.

And in a season dominated by Mercedes, it took some plot twists to take Gasly to the top step.

A French-speaking driver in an Italian car wins the Italian Grand Prix, exactly as expected. Valtteri Bottas decided the championship isn’t for him. We accidentally upset someone named Bert.

I review the action from the 2020 Italian Grand Prix with Luca Manacorda from motorbox.com

Pierre Gasly is the first Frenchman to win a Formula 1 race in 24 years after claiming his maiden victory in a thriller at the Italian Grand Prix.

The 24-year-old AlphaTauri driver beat McLaren’s Carlos Sainz and Racing Point’s Lance Stroll to the flag after inheriting the lead from poleman Lewis Hamilton, who served a stop-go penalty for a tyre change while pit lane was closed.

But Hamilton wasn’t the only frontrunner to hit trouble, with a slew of problems creating a perfect storm to deliver the unpredictable podium.

Pierre Gasly has won his maiden Formula 1 victory for AlphaTauri in a chaotic Italian Grand Prix at Monza.

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Helmut Marko crushes the spirit of yet another young driver, but at least it's not announced after we recorded this podcast (just). Meanwhile, nothing else of note happens in Formula One.
In Formula One, as in all professions, you know you’re in trouble when even your colleagues start making fun of you.
Pierre Gasly believes his 2019 fortunes will turn around from this weekend's British Grand Prix.
Pierre Gasly at the Austrian Grand Prix.
Pierre Gasly says his seat isn't under threat despite his poor form this season.
You might think just six rounds into a 21-race season is too early for the driver merry-go-round to start turning, but speculation is never far from hand in Formula One.

Red Bull Racing’s Pierre Gasly will start the Azerbaijan Grand Prix from the pit lane after failing to stop for a mandatory weight check during practice.

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What a difference 12 months can make.