Pierre Gasly "very happy" with Japanese GP with lack of track-time prior to race
F1 News
- Bobby Vincent
For all of the Formula 1 drivers, the 2019 Japanese Grand Prix weekend will be one to remember. Typhoon Hagibis dominated the weekend, with FP1 and FP2 both running fine, but all of Saturday's action was cancelled.
FP3 didn't happen at the weekend, with the weather producing large disruptions to the schedule. Qualifying was called off on Saturday, with the three sessions happening on Sunday, just a few hours before the race.
Toro Rosso driver Pierre Gasly didn't drive in FP1, with Naoki Yamamoto given a run-out by his team at his home grand prix. The Frenchman did race on Sunday, though, and the Frenchman continued to impress, driving to a P8 finish, for the Red Bull sister team since being dropped by the main squad halfway through the season.
"I'm very happy with today," Gasly said after Sunday's race. "It started really well this morning as I made it to Q3 and qualified ninth. We didn't really expect to make it there after such short preparation, since I missed both FP1 and FP3.
"I spent most of the race running in P7 and P8, it was really intense as Renault and Racing Point were pushing very hard. We had a suspension issue in the middle of the race which made it quite tough, so I just gave it everything I had inside of the car to keep the position. There were some intense battles and I really wanted to make it to the end for the team, Honda, and for the Japanese fans who came out to support us."