‘It came down to ninety seconds’, Pierre Gasly on almost missing out on the Belgian GP
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Pierre Gasly in the AT03
Pierre Gasly and AlphaTauri aren’t having their best of seasons right now. There is a clear decline in performance compared to last year where the French driver was on a qualifying charge finishing almost every Saturday in the top 6 which was an impressive performance to say the least. With the 2022 regulations coming into play, the team didn’t adapt as well as it’s competitors and will be hoping to change that in their 2023 challenger. Even with the troubles this year, Pierre was adamant and optimistic and his result in Spa was a testament to that.
The Belgian Grand Prix weekend was a roller coaster of emotions for the Alpha Tauri driver. Pierre Gasly was good friends with Antoine Hubert who lost his life in 2019 whilst in an accident during the feeder series race at Spa. Every year before the racing action commences, Gasly goes to the spot on the track where the accident took place and lays down a bouquet of flowers as a mark of respect for his good old friend. With most of the drivers taking a grid penalty, the French driver was ultimately 8th in the starting grid. This gave the driver a very good chance for a strong points finish. Although there was a last minute problem which he suffered that caused him to start from the pitlane just like his teammate Yuki Tsunoda who was starting in the pits due to a late PU change.
Pierre Gasly couldn’t get his car started due to an electronics issue which brought out the question as to whether the driver would participate in the race or not. Pierre thought all was lost but then his car fired up miraculously and he went on with the race. This was also the French driver’s 100th Grand Prix in his F1 career. With a crazy first lap, Gasly held his own and went on to finish the race in P9 bringing home valuable points for the team. It was a close call for him and Alpha Tauri but it all worked out in the end. Pierre shared a few thoughts on the situation.
Also read: Mick Schumacher certain to terminate partnership with Ferrari at the end of 2022
“Somehow the car just came alive,” Pierre Gasly admitted as he miraculously got to start the Belgian GP
Pierre Gasly admitted that he was very close to calling it quits but a miracle happened. “Two minutes before the race start, I thought I was never going to participate in this race. Somehow the car just came alive again, like one minute thirty before the race start,” he said.
Pierre Gasly was not very optimistic but was fully focused on getting a good result. “We didn’t expect to make such a comeback. I just tried to stay composed and execute the best race I could,” he continued.
Without the technical issue, Pierre Gasly could have started from P8 and it would have been great to see where he would have finished had everything gone accordingly. This was the French driver’s 4th points finish this season. Points have been hard to come by for the team but that will hopefully change in 2023 when they bring in the required changes.
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Varad Joshi
(940 Articles Published)