Breaking news
Formula 1
Toro Rosso "really stressed" about losing sixth place
Pierre Gasly says his Toro Rosso team is "really stressed" about losing sixth place in the Formula 1 constructors' championship, as it can only "pray" for a favourable Abu Dhabi Grand Prix after a poor qualifying.
Valentin Khorounzhiy
Edited: Nov 25, 2017, 6:45 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Toro Rosso is four and six points ahead of Renault and Haas respectively in the teams' standings heading into the season finale at the Yas Marina circuit, and dropping down the order would cost the Italian outfit millions in revenue.
Gasly led the way for Toro Rosso in Abu Dhabi qualifying but only managed 17th at a track where he's excelled in his junior career - whereas Renault's Nico Hulkenberg placed as high as seventh.
Gasly said: "I think today was good, compared to Brendan [Hartley], I managed to do a good lap so this is the only positive, but that's not the target.
"This weekend we need to keep the sixth position and at the moment it's out of our hands, really, because we don't have the pace to fight.
"It's a bit annoying to look at things without being able to really have an impact on it."
Should the relevant teams' cars finish where they start on Sunday, Hulkenberg's seventh place would be enough to swing the fight for sixth in Renault's favour – and Gasly, who in addition has reliability worries due to running "an old MGU-H", admitted Toro Rosso's hopes relied on other midfield teams.
"Hopefully the Force India will be fast enough. I think at the moment the only thing we can do is to pray tomorrow morning for Hulkenberg to finish eighth," he said.
"At the moment I see Franz [Tost] is really stressed, as much as we are, because in the end if we want to be competitive next year, it's really important to keep this sixth position, because it'll have an impact on the development.
"It's a bit frustrating not to be a bit further on the grid, to be fighting properly - starting from 17th, it's difficult to do something, but for sure we'll try everything."
Hartley: I didn't do a good job
Teammate Hartley said he was disappointed with his own performance in qualifying on top of Toro Rosso's struggles, as the Kiwi trailed Gasly by three quarters of a second.
"We didn't have a lot to lose so we've been also throwing a lot of changes at the car, because we knew we had a 10-place grid penalty, so we've been desperate to find some performance somewhere," Hartley said.
"Didn't work out in qualifying, I didn't get a lap together at all. A bit disappointed personally, I didn't do a good job."
Explaining the STR12's weak Yas Marina performance, Gasly said: "In terms of downforce we are not where we would like to be. And we're not competitive in the corners, and neither in the straights.
"There are many areas we need to improve, but when you put this problem, plus this one, plus this one, at the end the gap is pretty big, so it's tough."
Hartley, who also joined the outfit mid-season, echoed Gasly's sentiments.
"The truth is, I don't know, we seem to be lacking pace everywhere. The long run, we're in the mix with the Haas and the Sauber... but points I think are going to be a tough ask."
Additional reporting by Oleg Karpov and Ben Anderson
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 Raikkonen blames inconsistent tyres for lack of pace
Next article Abu Dhabi GP: Post-qualifying press conference
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Valentin Khorounzhiy
WTCR's April opener cancelled due to coronavirus
WTCR
WTCR
Hungaroring
WTCR's April opener cancelled due to coronavirus
Australian GP issues update on nine F1 paddock coronavirus tests
Formula 1
Formula 1
Australian GP
Australian GP issues update on nine F1 paddock coronavirus tests
Motorsport Games unveils 15 disciplines for 2020
General
General
Motorsport Games unveils 15 disciplines for 2020
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
Racing Bulls
Who slept worst last night: Nikola Tsolov
Formula 1
Formula 1
Singapore GP
Who slept worst last night: Nikola Tsolov
Racing Bulls "not in a rush" to decide between three "fantastic" drivers for F1 2027
Formula 1
Formula 1
Singapore GP
Racing Bulls "not in a rush" to decide between three "fantastic" drivers for F1 2027
Latest news
Marc Marquez puts his chances of retiring within three years at 70%
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Australian GP
11 min
Marc Marquez puts his chances of retiring within three years at 70%
Audi hands F3 runner-up Freddie Slater F1 practice debut
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
United States GP
46 min
Audi hands F3 runner-up Freddie Slater F1 practice debut
On this day: Fernando Alonso wins the world title, Michael Schumacher retires from F1
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Brazilian GP
2 h
On this day: Fernando Alonso wins the world title, Michael Schumacher retires from F1
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