Gasly: Toro Rosso surpassed expectations with P9

Pierre Gasly says that Toro Rosso was pleasantly surprised on Sunday as it wasn't expecting to walk away from the Belgian Grand Prix weekend with points. The Frenchman bagged two more points for himself and the Red Bull junior squad after crossing the line in ninth place.

Gasly looked in danger of being passed by Sauber's Marcus Ericsson during the race, but held him off and managed to extend the gap to the Swedish driver. Due to the Spa-Francorchamps circuit being dependant on engine power, the team was expecting to struggle with its Honda power unit.

However, Gasly says that it shaped up very well against the stronger Ferrari and Mercedes engines: “It’s been a really positive race and weekend for us,” he said. "On such a track with such long straights we knew we would struggle compared to the others.

"To be just outside the top 10 in qualifying and finishing ninth in the race was over our expectations, so a really positive weekend overall. We know with the Ferrari and the new upgraded engine they have [Haas] are pretty fast down the straights. So all the first and last sector we are lacking compared to them.