Pierre Gasly said he wanted to perform well in the Belgian Grand Prix for his late friend Anthoine Hubert, who died during last year’s race weekend at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit.
After crossing the line in eighth place, Gasly told his team “hopefully Anthoine enjoyed it”.The AlphaTauri driver said he was pleased with his result, but believeS a top five finish would have been possible if the Safety Car hadn’t appeared earlier in the race.
“It was an important day for me because I wanted to do well for Anthoine after what happened last year,” said Gasly.
“We decided to go for a different strategy, starting on the hard compound. It was better than expected and I was able to attack and overtake quite a few cars.”
A stand-out moment of his race came when he passed Sergio Perez despite the Racing Point driver squeezing him hard alongside the wall approach Eau Rouge. “The move on Perez was especially intense but very enjoyable,” said Gasly.
“We knew a Safety Car between the start of the race and lap 20 would be a killer for us, but unfortunately, that’s what happened and gave the other cars a free pit stop. We didn’t give up because we had a great car, good pace, so I pushed as hard as I could.
“After our pit stop, we exited almost last and we had to fight back through the field, but I enjoyed it and to recover to eighth was just great! I reckon the Safety Car cost us a potential fifth place today because I think we lost around 20 seconds there and finished seven seconds behind Ocon in fifth.
“We had a big job ahead of us today, so to recover the way we did was great and I think we can be very happy with that.”
Gasly’s team radio from the end of the race
To Gasly | What a drive. What a drive, Pierre, great recovery. Fail 84 when you come in the pit lane. |
Gasly | What a race. |
To Gasly | What a recovery. Amazing. Very, very good drive. |
Gasly | Thanks. |
To Gasly | Super-happy. I know that the Safety Car was really unlucky for us. You did an amazing first stint. Good race, good drive today. |
Gasly | Thank you very much. Thanks everybody. It was an important race for me so thanks to everyone and hopefully Anthoine enjoyed it as well, as much as I did. Grazie. |
To Gasly | I’m sure mate, I’m sure. You made him proud. It was an amazing drive. |
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Ninjenius
31st August 2020, 10:15
One of the rare times I agree with the official F1 DOTD poll.
Such a shame about that safety car. Could he have finished as high as 5th or 6th without it, perhaps?
ruliemaulana (@ruliemaulana)
31st August 2020, 10:24
I wonder what was Marko said to him before the race. Gasly race so fiercely.