Gasly 3rd, should have gone 5 tenths faster
This weekend, Pierre Gasly achieved his third Formula 1 podium. But this one was difficult to achieve, due to an engine issue on his AlphaTauri.
Pierre Gasly once again offered us an incredible performance. In the streets of Baku, the Frenchman put everything together to secure a new podium in Formula 1. After Brazil in 2019, and his victory in Monza last year, the Normandy native finished in 3rd place this weekend.
Fourth at the start, the Frenchman was overtaken by Sergio Perez in the first lap. Gasly then managed his race perfectly and took advantage of the twists and turns of this Grand Prix to finish once again on the podium after a battle with Leclerc in the final laps.
However, Pierre’s result could have been even better. Last night, AlphaTauri’s driver was Julien Fébreau’s guest on Canal+’s Twitch channel to review the race. In this live session, Gasly admitted that he had a engine issue as early as the 20th lap, causing him to lose nearly 5 tenths per lap.
« We were really far from the performance we should have had, and it was between 4 and 6 tenths per lap, on the straight. In terms of the car and in the corners, we were really very good, the car was very fast and that’s how we managed to always be ahead, he says.
« But from the 20th lap, until the following 30, we were losing more or less 5 tenths per lap in the straight, that’s why I was dropped by Vettel when he came back behind me in the straight, I couldn’t defend.
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« And with Charles, it was the same thing, I knew he was going to overtake me on the straight line, because we had to put the « safe mode to go until the end of the Grand Prix, », he said to Julien Fébreau’s microphone.
Despite this engine issue, the French driver perfectly defended his position on Charles Leclerc after the restart to secure his 3rd podium in Formula 1.
