His debut in F1
Hello Pierre, you are leaving this weekend to play the title in Japan, in Super Formula. Would you like that decision, knowing that you will find yourself in Formula 1 then, whatever happens?
Pierre Gasly: For me, the two choices were exciting. On the one hand, the US Grand Prix of F1 would have allowed me to accumulate experience and prepare the suite better still. On the other hand, I will play the title in Japan. I am excited to be able to finish the work started and to have the opportunity to add a line to my record after the crown conquered in GP2 last year.
What tipped the scales on the Super Formula side in preparation for this weekend?
P.G .: Red Bull made the choice, in consultation with Honda. I think the title is important for the Japanese engine manufacturer and it is obviously for me too. I only miss a single Grand Prix of F1, while being able to concretize the work of a whole year.
Let's go back a few moments over the last three weeks, during which you lived your first two Grands Prix in Formula 1. How did you experience this great tourbillon?
P.G .: That was just amazing! Every minute of each day was pure happiness for me ... I dreamed of becoming an F1 driver since the age of six. As time went by, the dream was transformed into a career goal, and even a life goal.
It is not easy to realize what is happening ... It is only when I returned to France, after Suzuka, that I finally realized what had just happened . Before that, I was so focused that I did not have time to become aware of the events. F1 is still another dimension. It was necessary to build his weekend session after session, then I had to manage the craze that occurred in Malaysia when I switched from reserve pilot to incumbent pilot, it was quite incredible!
You dreamed of it since your childhood, so you had time to imagine yourself a lot of things ... Was it consistent, better or worse than what you expected?
P.G .: It was clearly up to what I expected ... and even better! When I was 8 or 9 years old, I was watching a driver like Fernando Alonso on television and I obviously could not imagine being with him in F1 one day ...
Today I see what I have always wanted to live, that is, having the chance to fight with the best pilots in the world. It's the top level, and it's pure happiness.
On the other hand, and even if I had the experience of a reserve pilot, I did not expect the days to be loaded as a full-time pilot. There is the job of pilot, but also everything that has to be managed with the media and the sponsors. During a race weekend, I did not have a single time 20 minutes for me, to rest, it is really non-stop from Thursday to Sunday night.
As a result, Mondays must be difficult, when fatigue is felt ...
P.G.: On the first Monday, after Malaysia, I did not feel it too much because I was amazed by what I had just experienced. In addition, I was already focused on Japan. I relaxed after Japan and there the stroke was quite enormous.
We saw you very serene during these two race weekends. Was this really the case, internally?
P.G .: Curiously, yes. I was not over-confident but I felt very good. I came where I wanted to be. I had been aware for years that all the experience I was accumulating was necessary in order to be ready the day I arrived in F1. Somewhere, I had only to repeat the same actions. Of course, the ladder is much higher, the expectations too, as well as the performance of the car, but I already felt ready after being titled in GP2 and so I arrived in Malaysia telling me it was enough to act in the same way to achieve performance.
I am a hard worker, a competitor, so there was no revolution to consider or any additional pressure to put on. Sincerely, I have felt a lot more pressure in my career than in recent weeks. The Red Bull sector generates a lot of pressure. So, I did not feel any additional stress when I arrived in Sepang.
Have you ever been a spectator of what you were experiencing, alongside pilots like Lewis Hamilton or Fernando Alonso?
P.G .: Not really. As a reserve pilot, I was already a bit familiar with them, for example by participating in the pilot briefing. I was already in the paddock, so I had already spent even one evening with them. Lewis (Hamilton) and Kimi (Räikkönen) are the only two drivers I had not discussed with Malaysia before, but I found myself next to Lewis and we exchanged a few minutes for the first time .
I was 9 or 10 when he arrived in F1, so it's impressive. That said, these drivers are like everyone else and then, during the race, we totally ignore the names that are in other cars ...
What current driver inspires you most, in terms of steering or approach to work?
P.G .: I think to be the best performer, do not try to look like someone. If we do this and we do it, we will always do a little less well than the pilot taken as a model. So I try to do what seems to me the best and most intelligent thing to do, always giving me 200%.
On the current grid, there are many different drivers. Lewis has a lot of talent, Max (Verstappen) too, Vettel is probably more rigorous in his approach, just like Daniel (Ricciardo). I'm not inspired, but I know the strengths and weaknesses of each.
What was your greatest satisfaction with these first Grands Prix?
P.G .: I made no mistake, except for a small foul in qualifying in Japan. So I had a lot of experience on weekends not simple, during which the rain disrupted the program. I am also proud of my qualification in Malaysia because, despite a bad seat, I was already very close to Carlos (Sainz).
Is there any comment that has particularly affected you in recent weeks?
P.G .: Vettel said I was a quick driver and deserved his place in F1. Coming from a world champion, it's always fun!
Do you have an anecdote to tell about these two races?
PG: If I had been told that my first F1 race would be in Malaysia, on one of the most physical paths in the championship, and I would be deprived of drink throughout the race, I 'probably would not have accepted! (Laughter) It is still a place where you lose up to 3 liters of water in the body during the race ... But the pipette came out of my hood even before the race and when j I wanted to drink, the water flowed directly into my neck!
His relationship with Honda
The GP2 had already prepared you well for F1. What will the Super Formula bring you this season?
P.G .: Any new experience is good to take. When we find ourselves in unprecedented situations, the challenge is present, we must try to react in the best way. I knew nothing about the car, I discovered all the circuits and I had to adapt quickly in a rather special context.
However, in F1, it is always necessary to be able to adapt as quickly as possible to conditions, cars always different from one year to another. So it was a good exercise this season, in a competition where cars are super performing. This is clearly what is closest to the F1 today in terms of aerodynamic loads, besides there are ex-F1 drivers, drivers of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, or pilots who have 15 years of experience in the discipline. I will definitely come out grown and better driver than 12 months ago.
So you worked with Honda this year and if everything goes well, it should continue next year in F1 with Toro Rosso. What is your relationship with people at Honda?
P.G .: Clearly, it's a real plus for me to have worked with Honda this year when they arrive at Toro Rosso. Everything is very different from them: their culture of course, but also their communication, their method of work.
It took me a while to figure out how to work well with them this season. Now I know a lot better how to communicate with them. With this experience, I hope to have the opportunity to evolve with them next year in F1.
In practical terms, what is different in their approach to what we know in Europe?
P.G .: They are not used to being too hard, too direct. The Japanese always communicate in a constructive way and should never be pointed at them. They tend to say yes to everything, while they are not in agreement ... To make sure that we are on the same wavelength, we must sometimes check things ten times rather than just one.
Is it necessary, however, to accept that things sometimes take longer to settle?
P.G .: Absolutely. They attach great importance to the hierarchy: as long as the boss has not given his green light, nothing can move. Clearly, decision-making is not as fast as we are.
Obviously, Honda appreciates you especially. We imagine that is obviously very pleasant?
P.G .: Sure, I really had a very good year with them in Japan. And the performances are there too, since I am now second in Super Formula and only Honda driver in the top 8.
I won two races for them and our relationship developed well. I know that today I have great support from them and it gives me great pleasure, because it was not necessarily the case at the beginning of the season when I arrived there. The links are strong and this can only help me in the future.
Yamamoto San, one of Honda's bosses, came to see me several times. I also visited them in Tokyo, where all the engineers greeted me and congratulated me on my performance.
His future
Do you feel confident about the Toro Rosso-Honda project and confident about what your 2017 experience will bring you?
P.G .: Yes, I clearly believe in this project. They are perfectionists who, moreover, want to prove that they are capable of succeeding. There's probably a question of honor for them after a rather complicated three-year relationship with McLaren. Today, they want to show that they can regain their luster of yesteryear (when they won several titles with McLaren, editor's note).
They have made significant progress over the last six months compared to the previous two years. Of course, it is also necessary to be objective: catching up the delay taken on other engine manufacturers does not happen overnight. We'll see where Toro Rosso and Honda will be in early 2018, but it will take time.
Honda needs development time. They invest a lot of money. Personally, I am not an engineer, nor do I know the secrets of Mercedes. Honda must work hard to find the magic recipe for their engine. What I can do for myself is to maintain the best possible relationship in order to optimize our package. Communicate with the engineers at the best and remain constructive, while of course getting the most out of what you have.
This year, you will compete for the Grand Prix of Mexico, Brazil and Abu Dhabi. A positive sign for the rest of your career?
P.G.: Red Bull and Toro Rosso are clearly satisfied after these first two Grands Prix, so for the moment everything happens very well. Their instructions are simple, to date: to give the maximum, to gain experience and therefore not to make mistake.
Brendon Hartley will replace you at Toro Rosso in Austin. Do you know him well?
P.G .: He is of the generation above me, I know that he was a Red Bull pilot at one time and I only heard good of him during those years. I do not know why he did not get his chance in F1 earlier, but we do not win the 24 Hours of Le Mans by chance ... And then he is New Zealand, so he must be super cool!
Is it complicated for you to return this weekend in Super Formula after having tasted the F1?
P.G .: I will probably have a few laps during the free practice to have the car again in hand. But for the rest, I am focused on my goal. The opportunity is excellent and we will therefore approach this weekend like the others, methodically. I hope we can win the title!
The fact of having rolled Suzuka in F1 recently will help you for this race of Superformula, which will take place on the same route?
P.G .: Yes, it is always a good thing to be able to drive on a track longer. But it will not be the day and night in comparison with the other drivers. I hope to be able to reach the limit faster but we are all at that level and it will not play so much in the end.
If everything goes as planned, you should play the 2018 F1 season with Toro Rosso. How important will the Grand Prix played this year in the discipline?
P.G .: It is mostly a question of experience. This will allow me to know exactly what to expect, especially vis-à-vis the work to be done during free practice sessions in order to prepare the car for the best. I can also better manage the start of qualifying, and this experience also allows me to better understand the window of use of tires, which is very narrow in Formula 1.
A pilot has a lot of procedures to repeat over a weekend and the more you repeat these things, the more automatic it becomes. So it's a good thing to be here already at the end of the season, as well as for the relationship between the team and me.
http://minute-auto.fr/actu/interview-pierre-gasly