Gasly between satisfaction and frustration in Abu Dhabi

Pierre Gasly made his last laps this season at the wheel of the Toro Rosso STR12 by participating this morning in Pirelli testing at the Yas Marina circuit in Abu Dhabi. The 2016 GP2 Series champion completed 63 laps with the future soft tires and was satisfied with the developments made by the Italian manufacturer even if he would also have liked to test the softest tires in the range.

“I worked on the soft tires while Brendon (Hartley) works with the ultra softs and the hypersofts. It wasn't an ideal session because I rode with a full tank of fuel and we suffered from a broken MGU-K, but was the team able to collect data on the long stints? I would have liked to see what the softer tires did, but Sean Gelael already did the testing yesterday.", explained Pierre Gasly to AUTOhebdo.

“The soft tires seem a little more efficient than those of this season, the grip level is a little higher, and I would definitely take these new tires if I had the choice. So they have made good progress. I don't know what it is for the softer rubbers. This is the first test session for 2018 but we don't have the new engine yet. Pirelli must hurry because they will have to make their choice for Melbourne in ten days,” said the 21-year-old Frenchman.

If the 2017 season is now over for Pïerre Gasly, the Toro Rosso driver will still have a busy schedule before he can rest.

“I’m going to go to Japan at the end of the year for the season closing ceremony. I will find Stoffel there, he added. I will then continue with the simulator and I will make trips to Faenza to see the engineers and follow the development of next year's car. I will have other ceremonies with the French Motor Sport Federation as well as other end-of-year ceremonies with Red Bull. My schedule will be more relaxed after December 20. »

Photos from Pirelli testing in Abu Dhabi