Pierre Gasly hopes he will be “rewarded at some point” after another terrific drive to finish P5 in the Portuguese Grand Prix.
The Frenchman is enjoying a superb year for AlphaTauri, capped, of course, by his unforgettable first Formula 1 victory at Monza.
And his sparkling form is giving rise to plenty of speculation that he could regain his place in the Red Bull team which he lost midway through the 2019 season when swapped with the now-struggling Alex Albon.
Asked on Sky F1 if he thought his latest result will boost his chances of a Red Bull recall, Gasly said: “Red Bull decide what they want to do with the drivers.
“I think on my side, the only thing I can do is to perform, but obviously performance is not the only criterion to be in Formula 1 and to get a seat.
“That’s out of my control – the only thing I can do is put in strong results. At the moment everything is working well. I have scored more points for Toro Rosso [AlphaTauri] than any driver in the past and hopefully I will get rewarded at some point.”
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GOT HIM!!! @PierreGASLY is on FIRE! ? P5!#AlphaTauri #F1 #PortugueseGP ?? pic.twitter.com/CBskE8Vqb5
— Scuderia AlphaTauri (@AlphaTauriF1) October 25, 2020
Gasly also agreed with the suggestion that he is currently driving the best he ever has in F1.
“I think that would be fair to say,” he commented. “With a bit more experience now, I think I manage and approach the weekend in a different way and manage to extract everything a bit more.
“There are still many areas to improve, but it’s working well and the team is still doing everything I need to perform. I think we have a good working relationship.”
The result at the Algarve International Circuit was much better than Gasly might have feared when his car broke down on the circuit and set on fire during FP2 on Friday.
“We were very competitive,” he said. “I must say I really enjoyed the race, it was very entertaining inside the cockpit.
“I’m really happy we managed to pass the Renaults, McLarens and Sergio Perez’s Racing Point, especially after all the work the guys did on Friday night – they slept one hour. Everyone was really tired after rebuilding a full new car, so I’m really glad to give them back this fifth place. It’s like a small win for us.
“When you change chassis you think it can go either way, worse or better. That one seemed to work pretty well.
“We are really strong at the moment. We finished sixth last time, fifth this time, we are managing to extract everything from the car on Sundays, and also from my side I feel I’m performing at a very good level and I’ll keep pushing that way.”
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