Pierre Gasly to start Canadian GP from pit lane

Pierre Gasly will start the Canadian Grand Prix from the pit lane rather than from his qualifying position on the grid, according to Formula 1’s official race-day update on Saturday. F1’s social media feed listed the Alpine driver as P19 and separately flagged the pit-lane start ahead of Sunday’s race in Montreal. The race weekend timetable published by Formula 1 shows the Grand Prix is scheduled for May 24 at Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve. ### Why is Gasly listed as P19 if he is not starting from the grid? Formula 1’s event pages separate qualifying classification from the actual starting procedure, which is why Gasly can still appear as 19th after qualifying while being moved to a pit-lane start. F1’s official account used that same presentation on Saturday, showing Gasly’s grid slot as P19 while announcing that he would start from the pit lane. (formula1.com) A pit-lane start means the car does not take its place on the starting grid for the formation procedure. Under the FIA’s 2026 sporting regulations, pit-lane starters are governed by a specific section of the race rules, which distinguishes them from cars lining up in their classified grid positions. (formula1.com) ### What usually puts a Formula 1 driver into a pit-lane start? The FIA’s sporting rules provide for pit-lane starts in cases handled under the race procedure, most commonly when a car is required to start from the pit lane after changes are made under parc fermé conditions or after a team elects to alter the car following qualifying. The governing body’s regulations set out a dedicated “Pit Lane Starters” procedure for those entries. (fia.com) Formula 1 has used the same framework in previous Canadian Grand Prix coverage. In its official 2025 Canada starting-grid report, F1 said Gasly started from the pit lane after Alpine chose to make car alterations following qualifying. ### What do the official weekend documents show in Montreal? (fia.com) The FIA’s decision-documents page for the 2026 Canadian Grand Prix shows a sequence of official filings through Saturday, including the final sprint qualifying classification, the provisional sprint starting grid, post-session procedures and technical notices for the event. The same FIA event page is the formal record for any grid-related and procedural documents issued over the weekend. (formula1.com) The Canadian Grand Prix event notes published by the FIA also include the pit-lane drawings and circuit map for Montreal, detailing the pit entry, fast lane and pit exit layout at Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve. Those documents govern how pit-lane operations are handled during the weekend. (fia.com) ### Where does this fit in the Canadian Grand Prix weekend schedule? Formula 1’s official Canada event page lists practice on Friday, the sprint and qualifying on Saturday, and the Grand Prix on Sunday at 13:00 track time. The same page identifies Montreal’s Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve as the venue for the fifth Grand Prix weekend of the 2026 season. The next formal race document should come from the FIA’s Canadian Grand Prix decision-documents page, while Formula 1’s live event page will carry the race timetable and running order for Sunday, May 24, in Montreal. (fia.com 1) (fia.com 2) (formula1.com)