Breaking news
Formula 1 British GP
Gasly hails "massive step" on "strongest" weekend of 2019
Red Bull Formula 1 driver Pierre Gasly says he has made a "massive step" forward during what he feels is so far his "strongest" weekend of the season at Silverstone.
Jamie Klein
Edited: Jul 15, 2019, 8:25 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Gasly qualified fifth for the British Grand Prix, matching his strongest grid position of the year, as he ended up just under half a second off Mercedes' polesitter Valtteri Bottas.
His Red Bull teammate Max Verstappen was one place ahead in fourth, just over 0.3s faster.
Gasly began the Silverstone weekend by topping first practice, and was again quicker than Verstappen in both the second and third practice sessions prior to qualifying.
Coming off the back of a particularly tough weekend last time out in Austria, where he finished a lap behind Verstappen, the Frenchman said he was satisfied to see that the changes he and the team have implemented since the last race have made a difference.
"I would say so far [it's been my] strongest weekend of the year," said Gasly. "I think we showed all the improvements we have made.
"What I’m happy about is that there were a lot of things to improve, we had a plan of to change to make things better, and we clearly made a step forward. So I think it’s a massive step.
"[Whether] calling it a breakthrough [is right], we’ll see what sort of race I have. But I’m happy about what we have changed and to see that it’s paying off."
Gasly said the time loss to Verstappen in the final segment of qualifying could be largely put down to him not following the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc in front of him closely enough.
"I lost quite a bit of time not having a really strong tow," explained Gasly. "I think I could have been slightly closer to the car in front. I lost at least two tenths due to the tow.
"The lap itself was ok, not perfect through [Turns] 3 and 4, I think I left a bit of time through there, but I think Max did a really good lap and I could have found a bit more time to be closer to the Ferrari in front to get the tow and gain the laptime on the straights.
"I started the lap further back from Leclerc than Max was to me, just because I managed the gap. It’s something to adjust maybe for next time."
Like Verstappen, Gasly will start Sunday's race starting on medium tyres, which means he faces the prospect of trying to hold off Sebastian Vettel's soft-shod Ferrari early on.
Asked if he could hope to challenge the Ferraris in the race, Gasly replied: "Ferrari’s on a different strategy with both of them on the soft tyres. We’ll have to see how it goes.
"We should be able to have a longer first stint which could pay off, but for sure it’s not gonna be a straightforward one-stop or two-stop. I think there will be a lot of possibilities so I think we’ll have to see what we can do."
Pierre Gasly, Red Bull Racing RB15, leads Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari SF90
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Sutton Images
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Hamilton chasing "imaginary" rival when he's ahead of Bottas
Next article McLaren/Renault mash-up would make "pretty decent" F1 car
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Jamie Klein
Super Formula Fuji: Ayumu Iwasa wins as Kakunoshin Ohta misses chance to seal title
Super Formula
Super Formula
Fuji II
Super Formula Fuji: Ayumu Iwasa wins as Kakunoshin Ohta misses chance to seal title
Super Formula Fuji: Igor Fraga wins while Kakunoshin Ohta closes on title
Super Formula
Super Formula
Fuji II
Super Formula Fuji: Igor Fraga wins while Kakunoshin Ohta closes on title
More from
Pierre Gasly
Williams has better cooling vests than anyone – Alex Albon
Formula 1
Formula 1
Williams has better cooling vests than anyone – Alex Albon
‘I’m sideways all the time’ – How Alpine’s feral F1 car plagued Pierre Gasly in Singapore
Formula 1
Formula 1
Singapore GP
‘I’m sideways all the time’ – How Alpine’s feral F1 car plagued Pierre Gasly in Singapore
More from
Red Bull Racing
Max Verstappen slams “unacceptable” bumps at Austin F1 track: “It's out of control”
Formula 1
Formula 1
United States GP
Max Verstappen slams “unacceptable” bumps at Austin F1 track: “It's out of control”
Red Bull called Christian Horner to thank him for F1 engine project after maiden win
Formula 1
Formula 1
United States GP
Red Bull called Christian Horner to thank him for F1 engine project after maiden win
Latest news
F1 United States GP: Charles Leclerc completes perfect Friday by topping FP2
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
United States GP
23 min
F1 United States GP: Charles Leclerc completes perfect Friday by topping FP2
Tony Stewart: violent Talladega Truck wreck "knocked the wind out of me"
NASCAR Truck
NSTR NASCAR Truck
Talladega
59 min
Tony Stewart: violent Talladega Truck wreck "knocked the wind out of me"
Cleetus McFarland “pissed” after early Talladega NASCAR Truck crash
NASCAR Truck
NSTR NASCAR Truck
Talladega
1 h
Cleetus McFarland “pissed” after early Talladega NASCAR Truck crash
F1 United States GP live commentary and updates - Leclerc on top in FP2
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
United States GP
2 h
F1 United States GP live commentary and updates - Leclerc on top in FP2
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe