As Pierre Gasly and Alpine mastered the qualifying game to perfection at Monza, McLaren was one of several Formula 1 teams wondering what could have been after several key factors led to an underwhelming Italian Grand Prix qualifying result.
Off the back of two wins at high downforce circuits in Budapest and Zandvoort, high-speed Monza was never expected to be McLaren's strongest track, both because of a slightly less aero efficient car and a known weakness in low-speed chicanes.