Pierre Gasly was pleased for Kevin Magnussen – even though he admitted the Haas racer's pole position was a "terrible" result for him.
The Dane took the first pole of his career on Friday, benefitting from a George Russell crash and a timely rain shower. Those circumstances made it possible, but it was a timely reminder – in a season dominated by Max Verstappen and Red Bull – that any driver and team can taste success in F1.
There won't be many people out there who weren't delighted to see Magnussen and Haas achieve what they did in qualifying. And that was illustrated by Gasly, who has a better reason than most for wanting them to fail.
Just one point separates his AlphaTauri team from Haas in the constructors' standings. So the fact Magnussen is in a strong position to score points in both the Sprint and the main race is a big blow to their hopes of leapfrogging the American team into eighth place.
Gasly admitted as much, when in the TV interview pen while watching the final moments of the session play out. The Frenchman could not hide his smile when he was Magnussen's name at the top of the timesheets, even though it is bad news for him and his team.
"This I like, this is what I like about F1," Gasly said. He then asked: "Is it his first pole?" and once he was told that it was, he continued: "Unbelievable – but for us, it's terrible. It's terrible because we're fighting Haas in the championship."
Fans were pleased to see Gasly show such sportsmanship, even though it was bad news for his own ambitions. "Even though they are competing against each other, lovely to see Gasly excited for a rival," wrote one.
Another described the clip as "a great watch". And a third declared: "This is why I love F1." Gasly later underlined his delight for Magnussen with a post on his own account, featuring an image of the Dane with a goat photoshopped over his face.
Reacting to his shock pole, Magnussen told Sky Sports: "I waited a long time yeah, and I still can't believe it. What a phenomenal job the team did to put me out on the pit lane as the first car, to give me the best piece of track. It started to rain so that was the crucial part today, just getting the best part of the track for me. Amazing job by them."
