Belgian Grand Prix – Pierre Gasly was pleased to secure another points finish at Spa-Francorchamps after expecting the team to struggle at the high-power circuit.
Fresh from a summer break in which he secured promotion to the Red Bull senior team for next season, Gasly avoided opening lap chaos to run in the points-paying positions throughout the race.
He went to secure ninth place, a result which the Frenchman was not expecting given the typical power deficit from the Honda power unit.
“I’m really happy to score points! It was supposed to be a difficult weekend for us on a track like this, and to end up with two points is really positive,” said Gasly.
“The race itself was actually quite calm for me, I started in 10th position and overtook Daniel and Kimi on the inside of Turn 1 which put me in eighth. A few laps later Valtteri passed me but we knew there wasn’t much we could do about that, so I just pushed as much as I could. In the end we finished in P9, so it’s really satisfying.
“The car felt great all weekend and Honda did a really good job, we definitely made the most out of our package this weekend. We will try and do the same in Monza in a few days, another track that on paper does not suit our car, but It’s our home race and I will give it all to get the best possible result.”
Following his sixth place finish at the Hungarian Grand Prix, Gasly has scored back-to-back points for the first time in his Formula One career.
Having moved up one place in the constructors’ championship due to the exclusion of Force India, the Toro Rosso team now face a tough task to fend off the challenge from Racing Point Force India, who have already secured eighteen points in their quest to recover lost ground.
