Pierre Gasly: ​​“I was surprised when I was called to the pits prematurely”

Ranked seventh at the end of the qualifying session, Pierre Gasly was in good shape for the race. Unfortunately, Alpha Tauri has changed its race plan. Surely not wanting to take any risks after the punctures that occurred at the British Grand Prix, the Italian team decided to make the Frenchman dive into the pits a few laps before the first scheduled stop.

“I had a good start and felt pretty comfortable with the tires on the first stint. So I was surprised when I was called prematurely for the first stop despite the plan made before the race. I think we wanted to protect ourselves fromAlbon but it wasn’t really our race.”

Once out, Pierre Gasly found himself stuck in traffic. A situation which did not make his task easier for the rest of the Grand Prix. “Back on track we found ourselves in traffic and I had to put more than I would have liked on the tires to gain a few positions. This caused a lot of blistering after just a few rounds. The race then turned into a nightmare,” regrets the Norman, as does his boss Franz Tost, who recognizes the team’s error.

“Pierre made a good start and defended his position well. However, we clearly made a strategic error in calling him very early for his first stop. With his second set of tires, he quickly suffered blisters on the rear tires. So it was difficult for him to move up the standings and we were forced to call him back to the pits.”

Find in issue 2273 of AUTOhebdo, available Monday evening digitally and Wednesday on newsstands, the analysis of the 70th anniversary GP by our special correspondent.