Gasly won’t win Monza from pole - Schumacher

Pierre Gasly has produced one of the shocks of the 2026 season by taking pole at Monza, although Ralf Schumacher doubts Alpine can convert it into victory.

Gasly’s result was particularly unexpected given Alpine had not been regarded as a "serious contender" before qualifying, Schumacher said on Sky Deutschland.

"Gasly did something incredible. Will he win the race? No," added the German.

Schumacher believes tyre degradation will ultimately expose Alpine over a full race distance.

"Under normal circumstances, I don’t think he’ll be able to maintain his pace over the entire distance simply because his tyres will wear out very quickly."

"But we’ll see. This is Monza, nothing is impossible."

Flavio Briatore, however, is aiming considerably higher.

"The goal for tomorrow’s race? Win," he told Italian media.

"If you want to dream, you have to win. If you don’t want to dream, the realistic goal is to finish in the top 3-4."

Briatore said the pole was especially significant because the Enstone based team had not taken one for 16 years.

"I was emotional. We’re exaggerating if we cry now, but I was emotional," he admitted.

"We were very competitive, we were a tenth away, and I told (David) Sanchez ’I think we’ll get pole today.’ And we got it."

Steve Nielsen said Alpine’s low-drag package and upgrades introduced from Zandvoort helped create the surprise, alongside a well-executed slipstream.

"Our package doesn’t generate much drag, which helps our top speed enormously," he said.

"So it will be damn hard to overtake us tomorrow - and that feels good."

The bizarre 2026 Monza energy picture may also have helped scramble the usual order, with Fernando Alonso declaring that the circuit is no longer living up to its famous nickname.

"We enter the track and read ’Temple of Speed,’ but this is no longer the Temple of Speed," said the F1 veteran.

"We reached 350-360kph in Barcelona and Budapest, but here we only reach 312."

Carlos Sainz agreed that the new energy rules have fundamentally changed the circuit.

"We’re in a Formula 1 car with 400 or 500 horsepower in the middle of the straight instead of 1,000 and with a lot of aerodynamic drag," he said.

"On the straights, limiting speeds to 305 or 310kph... it’s a bit strange. It’s not as good as it used to be."

Max Verstappen was even more blunt on the radio: "I have less power than a Fiat Punto."