Breaking news
Super Formula Suzuka
Gasly hobbled by car issues on Super Formula debut
Red Bull protege Pierre Gasly returned empty-handed from Suzuka after a spate of car issues compromised his Super Formula debut.
Rachit Thukral
Edited: Apr 24, 2017, 2:22 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Gasly was expected to be fighting for top-five positions on the basis of pre-season testing, where he finished as the top Honda-powered driver.
However, set-up issues in practice affected his preparation for the weekend, with additional brake and gearbox problems consigning him to the midfield.
After qualifying eighth, the Frenchman eventually finished 10th, some 21 seconds behind race winner Kazuki Nakajima.
“This weekend didn’t feel right from the beginning,” Gasly said. “We tried some set-ups for practice, but it was completely wrong.
“So we went back to the baseline of the test in qualifying, but it still didn’t feel right for the conditions. We could have qualified in the top five, but we were still missing a little bit.
“The engineer told me we had a problem with the brakes as well. Big difference in [track] temperatures made the tyres go way too high in temperatures as well."
He added: “The [working] window of the tyres is quite small. This problem on the brakes led to problem with the tyres, making it difficult to keep them in the window.
“Then we had problems with the gearbox. So today was a difficult day.
“It’s a bit of shame because we had a good start, going up from P8 to P6. Then the strategy wasn’t so great. We lost two positions. Then after the pace wasn’t good.”
Trouble-free testing
Gasly rued the fact that none of the issues he faced at Suzuka occurred in pre-season testing, where he clocked a total of 225 laps and showed strong pace to finish inside the top-five on each of the four days.
“This weekend I faced some new situations that I didn’t before,” he said. “So it’s also good experience. But I mean there were just too many problems this weekend.
“It’s a shame that we didn’t get these problems in testing, as we could have solved them for this weekend.
“So now we just need to analyse everything and come back stronger in Okayama. And just make sure we don’t have the problems anymore.”
Additional reporting by Kunihiko Akai
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 Suzuka Super Formula: Nakajima cruises to win first race of 2017
Next article Okayama Super Formula: Lotterer cruises to Race 1 win
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Rachit Thukral
Gresini: New MotoGP rules won't increase gap between factory and satellite teams
MotoGP
MotoGP
Indonesian GP
1 h
Gresini: New MotoGP rules won't increase gap between factory and satellite teams
Cadillac signs Ricky Taylor, Antonio Felix da Costa in refreshed 2027 WEC line-up
WEC
WEC
Barcelona
Cadillac signs Ricky Taylor, Antonio Felix da Costa in refreshed 2027 WEC line-up
More from
Pierre Gasly
‘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
Pierre Gasly questions FIA stewards' decision not to penalise Lando Norris after Singapore crash
Formula 1
Formula 1
Singapore GP
Pierre Gasly questions FIA stewards' decision not to penalise Lando Norris after Singapore crash
Latest news
Franco Colapinto urges fans to stop the abuse: “You’re not helping me or my future”
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Singapore GP
1 h
Franco Colapinto urges fans to stop the abuse: “You’re not helping me or my future”
Gresini: New MotoGP rules won't increase gap between factory and satellite teams
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Indonesian GP
1 h
Gresini: New MotoGP rules won't increase gap between factory and satellite teams
Tristan McKee joins JR Motorsports in 2027 with future plans for full-time ride
NASCAR O'Reilly
NOAP NASCAR O'Reilly
Phoenix II
1 h
Tristan McKee joins JR Motorsports in 2027 with future plans for full-time ride
Colton Herta eyes potential Indy 500 return and IMSA enduros as 2027 plans remain in flux
FIA F2
F2 FIA F2 2 h
Colton Herta eyes potential Indy 500 return and IMSA enduros as 2027 plans remain in flux
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