Gasly thriving in ‘right harmony’ at AlphaTauri
Pierre Gasly has cited the “right harmony” at AlphaTauri as a big reason why he has been able to rebuild his F1 career with the team.
The Frenchman’s prospects took a huge blow when, after being promoted to the Red Bull senior team for the 2019 campaign, he lasted only half a season alongside Max Verstappen before being dropped back down to the sister Toro Rosso outfit, as they were then known.
However, back in surroundings where he clearly feels more comfortable, Gasly has shown why there was initially so much faith placed in him, finishing second in the 2019 Brazilian Grand Prix and clinching an emotional first F1 win at Monza this year.
Those results were backed up by a string of points finishes in 2020 as the 24-year-old outperformed his AlphaTauri colleague Daniil Kvyat, which means he will lead the team in 2021 alongside Japanese rookie Yuki Tsunoda.
The cordial atmosphere in the Italy-based outfit is bringing out the best in Gasly.
Get your hands on the official AlphaTauri 2020 collection via the Formula 1 store
“The team has a great mentality, a great attitude,” said Gasly in an interview with Auto Motor und Sport. “There is a lot of positive energy. We all work well together. That’s the most important thing in a team sport like Formula 1.
“I do my job on Sunday but the development work, the set-up of the car, all of this work is done before the race weekend. The harmony is right. Everyone gives 110% of their skills for the results on the track.”
Another significant factor giving Gasly a boost is a sense of feeling settled and making something of a home for himself at AlphaTauri.
“For the first time, I will be on the team for two seasons in a row,” said Gasly, who also hopes AlphaTauri can push on towards a top-five placing in the constructors’ World Championship after finishing P7 this season.
“Everything that happened this year – the co-operation and the feedback to the engineers – flows into next year’s development. I want to work even more closely with them to influence developments.
“When I speak of more responsibility, I mean the fact that we will work together longer. After 2018 I was with Red Bull. In 2019 I came back quite late in the year. I didn’t have that much influence on this year’s car.”
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