Gasly: ​​“We knew this circuit was going to be difficult for us”

Pierre Gasly was able to assess the lack of performance of its Honda engine block during the first tests of the Belgian GP on the long straights of Spa-Francorchamps where the mechanical power is highlighted. After a promising first session where the future driver Red Bull finished on the outskirts of the Top 10, the Frenchman was further behind in the afternoon, only finishing in 15th place.

“We knew this circuit was going to be very difficult for us. The first session went well, but it was more complicated during FP2. We are behind because of the long straights, we obviously struggle more than in Budapest”, recognized the 2016 GP2 Series champion.

“Vacuuming saves a lot of time here. We'll have to be smart in qualifying and try to position ourselves well in traffic to grab a few tenths, added Pierre Gasly. I would be happy if it started to rain, but preparing the tires is tricky due to the cool temperatures. It's almost identical to the winter testing in Barcelona. »

Pierre Gasly also admitted to having been more surprised by the passage of Pouhon compared to the famous Raidillon which is easier to understand with the level of aero support obtained with the new F1.

“The speed at Pouhon is incredible, we have to go at 280-290km/h. At this speed, you just have to turn the steering wheel 5 hundredths too late and you completely miss the rope. You may have gone wakeboarding or jet-skiing on vacation, nothing beats driving an F1 car. The Raidillon goes flat out and the climb remains impressive, but the Pouhon bend is much more technical and tricky to understand”, he explained.