In a race filled with excitement and drama, Pierre Gasly experienced a particularly frustrating day at the track. Early on in the race, Gasly made contact with Lewis Hamilton, resulting in damage to his diffuser and a significant loss of downforce. The incident caught the attention of the FIA stewards, but they ultimately decided not to take any action. The stewards explained their decision by stating that Gasly locked his front right tire into Turn 6, causing him to approach the turn at a lower speed and on a slightly different line than expected by Hamilton. They determined that neither driver was wholly or predominantly to blame for the collision.
The damage to Gasly’s diffuser had a detrimental impact on his performance throughout the race. Being deprived of downforce meant that Gasly was unable to maintain his typical lap times and struggled to make progress on the track. Gasly expressed his disappointment, stating that the contact with Hamilton had “destroyed the whole diffuser at the back” of his car. Losing a significant amount of points of downforce, Gasly’s chances of a successful race were greatly diminished.
Gasly expressed his frustration with the lack of any penalties imposed on Hamilton. He believes that the collision caused him to lose precious race time, which was out of his control. Gasly acknowledged that although Hamilton made a mistake by hitting the back of his car, it was a challenging decision for the stewards to make. On one hand, Gasly could potentially lose 15-20 seconds of race time due to the incident. On the other hand, Hamilton’s error resulted in a significant impact on Gasly’s race. The lack of penalties left Gasly disheartened, as he believed it cost him dearly in the race.
In addition to the collision, Gasly also found himself frustrated by a strategy call that saw him falling behind his teammate, Esteban Ocon. Gasly voiced his dissatisfaction with the decision, emphasizing that the leading car should always have priority. He acknowledged that mistakes happen, but he expects the team to review the strategy call and ensure that it does not recur in the future.
Despite the disappointment and challenges faced during the race, Gasly admitted that even without the incident and strategy mistake, points were still out of reach for him. Combined with the loss of downforce caused by the damage, Gasly estimates that he was losing around four-tenths of a second per lap throughout the race. While there may have been a chance to fight for a top 10 position against drivers like Lance Stroll, Gasly recognized that achieving a higher position on the grid would have been unlikely.
Pierre Gasly’s race was marred by the unfortunate incident with Lewis Hamilton, resulting in damage to his diffuser and a significant loss of downforce. The FIA stewards opted not to impose any penalties, leading to Gasly expressing his disappointment in the outcome. Additionally, a strategy mistake further hindered Gasly’s chances of a successful race. Despite the setbacks, Gasly remains optimistic that the team will learn from their mistakes and improve in future races.
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