F1 | Gasly on Italian GP '‘This is my Grand Prix, this is my moment.”
Pierre Gasly recently reflected on his legendary Italian GP victory to French outlet Turbo.
As we wait for the 2021 Formula One season to commence, one of the highlights of 2020 is still fresh in the memory. Pierre Gasly’s superb victory at the Italian Grand Prix gave a real shot in the arm to F1. The unpredictability of the outcome and the jubilation his victory brought went beyond Formula One. It was no wonder to have seen the victorious Frenchman choose to cherish every minute of the podium and Pierre Gasly recently reflected on this legendary victory to French outlet Turbo.
The Italian Grand Prix was not Pierre Gasly’s first visit to an F1 podium having finished in a breathtaking second place for Toro Rosso at the 2019 Brazilian GP. However, on this occasion, Pierre Gasly found the experience passed by far too quickly – as shared with Turbo:
“Everything happens extremely fast in F1 and I had experienced it in Brazil, after my second place [in 2019] where on the Monday morning I woke up and said to myself ‘it actually happened much too fast,'" said Gasly. “I would have dreamt it would last longer and I had the feeling I hadn’t taken enough advantage of all the emotions... That’s why I said to myself at Monza for my first victory ‘this is my Grand Prix, this is my moment, only for me.”
As a result of winning the 2020 Italian Grand Prix, Pierre Gasly became the first French F1 race winner since the 1996 Monaco Grand Prix victory of Olivier Panis.
France has produced legendary F1 drivers and so it was inevitable that upon arriving in F1 the expectation on Pierre Gasly was high:
“Without it being a burden, it’s true that it was the first question I was asked when I arrived in the paddock in 2017 as a driver,” said Gasly. “For my part, I became aware of the real impact in the days following the victory," Gasly replied reflecting on the the reaction in France when he became a Grand Prix winner in the pinnacle of motorsport.
“It was already a sign of things to come because it had been more than 20 years since we [a French driver] hadn’t had one and you could really feel the desire for victory in the paddock, on behalf of all the French and also on behalf of all the fans and supporters who follow F1.
"Whether it was the number of messages or the media frenzy behind the victory, it was just incredible and frankly it surpassed anything I could have imagined,” Gasly continued.
The 24-year-old Frenchman has encountered more struggle, misfortune and sadness than many a driver on the grid. Never more so following the tragic death of his childhood friend Anthoine Hubert who lost his life in a Formula 2 accident in Belgium. As such, on this momentous day in Italy, his dear friend was at the forefront of his mind:
"Anthoine, of course he was one of the first people I thought of," Gasly remarked. "Of course we think about it all the time, he's like a brother with whom I grew up at school, I did the teenage b#$#$#t, with him I trained five days a week, we went shopping together, we lived in the same flat…We really did many, many things together and it was very, very difficult to lose him like that. We shared the same dream, so I feel the need to succeed for him as well," Gasly said.
In recent days, Pierre Gasly revealed his latest battle to overcome - due to testing positive for COVID-19:
"I wanted to let you know that I tested positive for [COVID-19]. I have told everyone I've been in contact with during these last days," he tweeted. "I'm currently self-isolating and following the protocol set by the local health authorities. I'm feeling OK and will continue to follow my training plan from home while I remain in isolation."
The 2020 F1 season featured some memorable on track battles and victories – none more so than Pierre Gasly’s Italian GP victory. However, that season is consigned to the history books and now we look ahead to the 2021 season launching on March 28th with the Bahrain Grand Prix.
Pierre Gasly will no doubt overcome COVID-19 in the same way he has overcome so many barriers along his path. In 2021, Pierre Gasly will be partnered at AlphaTauri on the grid by Japanese rookie Yuki Tsunoda. Having replaced Daniil Kvyat, much is expected from the Japanese racer and no doubt the battle between the teammates will be an exciting one to watch.
Haas also has a struggle to overcome before the start of the 2021 F1 season:
