Justice has been served at last, as Pierre Gasly has capped off a rollercoaster of a year. 12 months ago, the Frenchman was devastated to learn that he was being demoted to Toro Rosso. Who would have thought that he would soon steer that car to a podium in Brazil and now, a maiden win on home soil at Monza.

Truthfully, many drivers were really happy for the Frenchman, and Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc went to congratulate him. Leclerc himself had a torrid race, losing control of his Ferrari and crashing out at the Parabolica corner. That brought out the red flag, so that the marshals could repair the barrier.

How did Pierre Gasly emerge victorious?

Admittedly, this was Lewis Hamilton’s race to lose, as he was simply running away with the win. However, everything unravelled when Kevin Magnussen’s Haas stopped near the pit lane entry. Hamilton dived into the pits when the Safety Car came out, not realising that the pit lane was closed.

As a result, he and Antonio GIovinazzi copped a 10 second stop-and-go penalty. This paved the way for Gasly to eventually inherit the lead and he never looked back since. However, he did not have it easy, as Carlos Sainz Jr was hounding him all the way.

Sainz’s McLaren steadily closed the gap to the AlphaTauri, until it came to a last lap showdown. Somehow, Gasly was able to fend off Sainz’ advances and held onto the lead until the chequered flag. Pierre Gasly has been on a heck of a journey, from earning a Red Bull promotion in early 2019, to getting demoted midway.

He got his revenge at the 2019 Brazilian Grand Prix with a well-deserved podium. Now, he has finally capped it off with his maiden win. It is also worth noting that this is AlphaTauri’s second win in its entire career, since Sebastian Vettel in 2008. Incidentally, that win also took place at the Italian Grand Prix at Monza.