Pierre Gasly pushed "everyone" to avoid engine change at home GP
Pierre Gasly says he pushed "everyone" at Toro Rosso and Honda to avoid having to take a new Formula 1 engine and subsequent grid penalty for his home grand prix
Gasly suffered a problem with his upgraded Honda engine in Canadian GP practice and reverted to the old spec for qualifying.
As Gasly was only due to start 16th in Montreal Honda fitted another new engine for the race, dropping him to the back and protecting him from a change and grid drop at next week's French GP.
Gasly said: "I pushed everyone, I pushed with Franz [Tost, team principal], I pushed with Jonathan [Eddolls, chief race engineer], I pushed with Tanabe-san [Honda technical director Toyoharu Tanabe], I pushed everyone.
"I said, 'OK, I want the new engine in the car'. Otherwise will be just too difficult a race and it's better to take the penalty here - we have more chances to finish in the points and also for France it is better because we don't start far back."
Gasly rose from 19th to 11th in Canada and while he would likely have scored points with a higher starting position he said the "good news" was it protected his home race.
"We still need to do all the free practices and everything there, but of course the first home race for me, on a track I really like, I want to do great there.
"With the upgrade, if we have a good car there, we can probably expect to have a good weekend."
Toro Rosso and Honda were buoyed by the upgrade, which centred on the internal combustion engine, introduced in Canada.
Gasly said more should be expected as they go to tracks better suited to the Toro Rosso chassis.
"Definitely the power unit is good," he said. "Chassis-wise we were not fantastic [in Canada], compared to Monaco [where Gasly finished seventh], or compared to even Barcelona.
"Our car wasn't the best for that track. I think if we manage to improve a bit the performance of the car, I think the power unit will give us really good chance to be more consistently close to the top 10 or in the top 10."
Previous article
F1 stuck in 'Stone Age' compared to NFL and football - Lewis Hamilton
Next article
The key flaw in F1's mega title fight
About this article
| Series | Formula 1 |
| Drivers | Pierre Gasly |
| Author | Oleg Karpov |
Albert Park Circuit Modifications Project
Mercedes-AMG F1 Team: Bahrain GP Race Debrief
The delay that quashed Aston Martin’s last F1 venture
Aston Martin’s only previous foray into Formula 1 in the late 1950s was a short-lived and unsuccessful affair. But it could have been so different, says NIGEL ROEBUCK
Verstappen exclusive: Why lack of car-racing titles won't hurt Red Bull's ace
Max Verstappen’s star quality in Formula 1 is clear. Now equipped with a Red Bull car that is, right now, the world title favourite and the experience to support his talent, could 2021 be the Dutchman’s year to topple the dominant force of Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes?
Are we at peak F1 right now?
For many, many years Formula 1 has strived to do and to be better on all fronts. With close competition, a growing fanbase, a stable political landscape and rules in place to encourage sustainability, 2021 is on course to provide an unexpected peak
How crucial marginal calls will decide the Red Bull vs Mercedes battle in F1 2021
The longer Red Bull can maintain a performance edge over Mercedes, the better the odds will be in the team’s favour against the defending world champions. But as the Bahrain Grand Prix showed, many more factors will be critical in the outcome of the 2021 Formula 1 World Championship
How Williams’ new structure adheres to a growing F1 trend
Williams held out against the tide for many years but, as MARK GALLAGHER explains, the age of the owner-manager is long gone
When a journeyman driver's F1 career lasted just 800m
Nikita Mazepin’s Formula 1 debut at the Bahrain Grand Prix lasted mere corners before he wiped himself out in a shunt, but his financial backing affords him a full season. Back in 1993 though, Marco Apicella was an F1 driver for just 800m before a first corner fracas ended his career. Here’s the story of his very short time at motorsport’s pinnacle
The nightmare timing that now hinders Mercedes
Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton took victory at the Bahrain Grand Prix despite, for a change, not having the quickest car. But any hopes of developing its W12 to surpass Red Bull's RB16B in terms of outright speed could not have come at a worse time.
How Raikkonen's rapid rise stalled his team-mate's F1 career climb
Kimi Raikkonen’s emergence as a Formula 1 star in his rookie campaign remains one of the legendary storylines from 2001, but his exploits had an unwanted impact on his Sauber team-mate’s own prospects. Twenty years on from his first F1 podium at the Brazilian GP, here’s how Nick Heidfeld’s career was chilled by the Iceman
