Toro Rosso impressed with Gasly

Pierre Gasly earned praise from Toro Rosso having showed the "right approach" as he made his F1 debut at the Barcelona circuit.

The 19-year-old Frenchman tested for Toro Rosso on Day One of the two-day post-Spanish Grand Prix test.

Covering 131 laps and without a single mistake, he posted a best time of 1:27.639 and impressed those in the garage.

"Pierre acquitted himself very well, showing that he had the right approach, building up speed gradually. He did a professional job all day, completing a lot of laps," said chief race engineer Phil Charles.

"A very productive day, during which we managed to complete the full programme we had planned. We started the day doing some runs to check aero data and also ran a tyre programme. In the afternoon, we did some brake testing while continuing to work on tyres."

The GP2 driver, who just days ago was lapping the track in a GP2 car, was delighted his F1 debut.

"It was a wonderful day," he said. "This morning, getting into a Formula 1 car for the first time was something special. The feeling you get from the car is unbelievable.

"Everything is almost perfect, with elements like the power steering for example and of course there's much more power than in the other formulas and you have more grip too.

"I really enjoyed the experience and I made the most of it, doing a lot of laps. All drivers dream of driving a Formula 1 car and having now done it, I am even more determined to reach my goal of racing in this category.

"It was awesome and I can't wait to try it again. Thank you Red Bull and thank you Toro Rosso."