Gasly believes he still has work to do on the long stints

Fast on a flying lap, Pierre Gasly certainly is. Author of 15 entries in the Top 6 in qualifying over 20 weekends of competition this season, the Frenchman once again proved his great speed this Friday during the first free practice sessions for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

Holder of the 4th best time in Free Practice 1, 0'477 behind Lewis Hamilton, the pilot Alpha Tauri then climbed to 3rd place in the evening, with a mark of 1'29''099, barely 0'081 slower than that of the pilot Mercedes.

« I really like this circuit, the turns are incredible and you get a real adrenaline rush, commented Gasly this Friday evening, talking about his first steps in Jeddah.

It was a great day for us and I'm delighted with our pace so far. We know that we generally perform well on Saturday so I am quite confident for tomorrow, especially as we can still improve.

However, I am not as optimistic about the long relays, we still have work to do to prepare before the race ».

Gasly hopes to avoid reliving the disappointing scenario of the last Qatar Grand Prix. Qualified in 4th position then promoted to the front row after the application of several grid penalties, the winner of Monza 2020 finished out of the points at Losail, due in particular to premature tire wear.