Pierre Gasly has opened up about his ‘hardest day’ in Formula 1 following his heartbreaking lost Monaco Grand Prix podium.
Last weekend had the makings of a fairytale finish in Monte Carlo, as Gasly claimed a hard-fought podium. But it came crashing down following a pair of pit lane speeding infringements. Dropping Gasly from third to seventh in the timing sheets.
Alpine are invoking its “Right to Review” on the penalties, the FIA having accepted the Right to Review. However, there is no changing the immediate emotions Gasly felt in the Principality. Ones he described as the lowest points in his F1 career.
“I think, to me, it’s fair to say this was the hardest day I’ve ever had in F1. And in my sports career,” Gasly told media including Motorsport Week.
Gasly explained that his emotion was down to childhood memories of being French and dreaming of the Monaco podium. Coming tantalisingly close was a different kind of pain, the Alpine driver was yet to experience.
“As a kid, I grew up watching Formula 1, the iconic Monaco Grand Prix. As a French, it has a special meaning to me, and I never had the chance to go on that podium.
I know I’m someone quite emotional, but dealing with all the emotion I felt after the race, for me, was extremely hard and intense.”
The Alpine driver emphasised that podium fights aren’t an every-race experience. In turn, he feels he must capitalise on every opportunity that presents itself.
“…If you drive a car that gives you the possibility to finish on the podium every other weekend, it’s slightly different. You move on quickly, come here, fight for the podium, and eventually win,” he said.
“I’ve not been in a position to have that car underneath me yet, so I know when the chance is there. It might be once a year, it might be once every two years, it might be two or three times a year. But once it’s there, I want to make sure that I’m the one grabbing it.”
Gasly clarifies Social Media rumours
Following the race, speculations grew that Gasly was unaware of his imminent penalties, as a video of the Frenchman punching his arms in the air circulated on the internet.
Despite what the footage suggests, the Frenchman insists he knew about the penalties. His reactions were for the team’s “perfect” race on track, where the adrenaline took over.
“No, no, I was aware,” Gasly responded when asked if he knew about his post-race penalties in Monaco.
“I think at that time, it’s just running extremely high on emotions. As I said, it was a perfectly executed race.”
For Gasly, his celebrations represented the joy associated with the on-road third-place finish. Although it may not have yielded the result they inevitably wanted, a clinical race from the Alpine driver proved the team are moving in the right direction for the rest of the season.
“I think I was really proud of the performance we had with the team,” he highlighted
“And crossing the line in third, which should be rewarded with a podium. it was my way of having my moment, obviously, based on the whole situation and what I felt at that time. That’s why I wanted to deal with the situation to share the type of emotion I had.”
The team will learn the fate of their “Right of Review” later today, after the FIA granted Alpine’s request and agreed to hear the case surrounding Gasly’s penalties.
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