Pierre Gasly did not expect “such a comeback” at Spa

Starting from the pits after a problem resolved at the last minute, Pierre Gasly made a good comeback to finish in the points at Spa.

Published on 31/08/2022 à 11:23

Valentin GLO

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Pierre Gasly did not expect “such a comeback” at Spa

Starting from the stands, Pierre Gasly got back into the points at Spa (Photo Julien Delfosse / DPPI)

Pierre Gasly experienced a 100th Grand Prix in Formula 1 rich in emotions. The Frenchman actually encountered a mechanical problem preventing him from positioning himself on the starting grid at Spa-Francorchamps. The Norman thought at that moment that his race was over before it had even begun. “No lie, two minutes before the start of the race I thought I would never participate in this race, admitted the pilot Alpha Tauri. I was fuming under my helmet, but somehow the car came back to life, like a minute and a half before the start of the race and we started from the pit lane. »

Gasly: ​​“I tried to stay focused”

From last position, Pierre Gasly pulled away to finish in the points. “I tried to stay focused and we didn't expect to make such a comeback, I just tried to stay calm and run the best race I could, confides the person concerned. We made the right decisions, we had good pace and we managed to get back into the top 10, so it's pretty incredible for us. » It was by passing through the stands at the appropriate times that the Habs cleared the way to the top 10: “The first two stints were very difficult, I was stuck in traffic and I didn't hesitate to say that I wanted to go back to the pits early to do the undercut because I saw that I was slipping and losing a lot of momentum. lap time, and that's what we did. »

Once in the first ten places, Pierre Gasly offered himself a great three-abreast battle in the Kemmel straight with Sebastian Vettel (Aston Martin) and Esteban Ocon (Alpine), during which he had to bow.  “The car isn't quite where we want it to be yet, we still have a few areas we need to work on, but I'm happy we managed to score points again today. I don't know how many cars we overtook with undercuts during the whole race, but it was clearly the way to go, and I just had to manage the last stint, which wasn't easy, but it definitely paid off. From pit lane to getting those two points, my 100th race is pretty good. » 

ALSO READ > Pierre Gasly's five best Grands Prix in Formula 1

Valentin GLO

Journalist. Endurance reporter (WEC, IMSA, ELMS, ALMS) and sometimes F1 or IndyCar.

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