3. Pierre Gasly claims emotional maiden win for AlphaTauri
There were two first-time race winners in 2020, but while Sergio Perez' success in Sakhir carried a sense of utter relief and delight that he'd finally done it after so many years of trying, the emotions surrounding Pierre Gasly's shock victory in the Italian Grand Prix were of a different order entirely. But then it's always been something of a roller coaster ride for the 24-year-old French driver who made his F1 debut with Toro Rosso at the tail end of the 2017 season, earned promotion to Red Bull in 2019 only to struggle with the transition resulting in a demotion after just 12 outings. Since when he's been working hard to successfully rebuild his form and recover his confidence.
Toro Rosso rebranded as AlphaTauri this season and benefitted from the improvement in the Honda power units which allowed them to contend for points on a regular basis. Even so, what happened at Monza came out of nowhere. Gasly had done well to qualify in tenth place for the race, and settled into the position for the opening stint until pitting shortly before a safety car was scrambled for Kevin Magnussen's Haas stopped by the side of the track. The race had barely restarted when Charles Leclerc suffered a high speed accident at the Parabolica resulting in a red flag stoppage. With Max Verstappen out of the race with engine issues, Valtteri Bottas suffering a poor start and overheating issues, and Lewis Hamilton penalised for coming in when pit lane had been closed while marshals recovered Magnussen's car, the timing of Gasly's earlier stop meant he found himself in the lead for the restart ahead of Kimi Raikkonen and Carlos Sainz. It was Sainz who emerged as the main threat with Lance Stroll in third as Raikkonen plunged backwards, but Gasly had the measure of the McLaren and held on to the lead all the way to the finish.
It was the team's first victory since Sebastian Vettel won for Toro Rosso (also at Monza) in 2008, and it left Gasly shell-shocked. "Today it was a great day! he said afterwards, adding: "This is amazing! I'm lost for words! It's unbelievable! I've been through so many things in the past 18 months and it's better than anything I expected." It was down to earth with a bump a week later when he was knocked out at the start of the next race in Tuscany, and there would be another DNF at the third Italian race of the season at Imola. None of that could take away the joy and emotion of what he'd achieved in Monza, which was arguably the most thrilling race of the 2020 season.
