1
Pierre Gasly has admitted his weekend in Bahrain will not have hurt his quest for a top seat in formula one. Toro Rosso's rookie Frenchman stunned the F1 world by qualifying sixth and finishing fourth -- Honda's best result since its return to the sport over three years ago.
And Gasly, 22, had already been linked with a potential move to Red Bull next year to replace Daniel Ricciardo. When asked if Bahrain gives that quest a boost, he answered: "I don't want to think about it now, but a little later I'll analyse everything."
Gasly's path to F1 was not straightforward. He won the GP2 title in 2016 but Red Bull's Dr Helmut Marko sent him instead to Japan's Super Formula, ruling that he was not ready for F1. "My way here was not easy, but in the end I was always in the top three in all the junior series I did," said Gasly.
"Now I'm with very experienced and talented drivers and I cannot make a mistake. It was a very important experience to stand on the grid next to Daniel Ricciardo and Valtteri Bottas. They've been in F1 a long time and it's my seventh grand prix. I have a lot to learn but Bahrain helped me a lot," he added.
As for what Red Bull supremo Marko told him after Bahrain, Gasly answered: "He said I did a great race, but I knew that already! The smile on Helmut's face was really great to see."
But for now, Gasly is an important part of Toro Rosso and Honda, the Japanese carmaker that is rebuilding after the McLaren nightmare. "Honda has made great progress, but it's difficult to compare them to other manufacturers," he said. "I don't want to mention numbers, but it's obvious that they made a big step forward."
Toro Rosso team boss Franz Tost added: "We didn't expect fourth place in the second race. But we were always told by Honda that we can expect a good result within the first ten races." (GMM)
Grand Prix of BelgiumLocal time
Grand Prix of BelgiumLocal time
Bahrain International Circuit - Winter testing
M. Verstappen
C. Sainz jr
C. Leclerc
Bahrain
Bahrain
Bahrain International Circuit
Bahrain
Bahrain International Circuit
Saudi Arabia
Jeddah Street Circuit
Australia
Albert Park
Japan
Circuit Suzuka
United States of America
Miami International Autodrome
Monaco
Monte Carlo
Canada
Gilles Villeneuve
Spain
Circuit de Catalunya
Austria
Red Bull Ring
United Kingdom
Silverstone
Hungary
Hungaroring
Belgium
Spa-Francorchamps
Netherlands
Circuit Zandvoort
Italy
Monza
Azerbaijan
Baku City Circuit
Singapore
Marina Bay Street Circuit
United States of America
Circuit of the Americas
Mexico
Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez
Brazil
Interlagos
United States of America
Las Vegas Street Circuit
United Arab Emirates
Yas Marina Circuit
67,335 comments on Alpha Tauri
3 members have this team as their favourite
Tweets about Pierre Gasly
94,349 comments on Scuderia Toro Rosso 46 members have this team as their favourite Tweets about Scuderia Toro Rosso
Replies (1)
Login to replyrenaultFanF1
Posts: 80
Pierre, you are obviously a very good kid and a talented driver. Just make sure you don't make any mistakes, ever... as you will be replaced faster than you can say "Helmut"