Pierre Gasly has said that the Mexican Grand Prix is “a unique event” ahead of his first ever race at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez.
Gasly returns to the ever-changing Scuderia Toro Rosso line-up for Mexico after missing the United States Grand Prix after obeying Honda‘s wish for him to take part in the Super Formula championship finale at Suzuka, an event that was abandoned due to adverse weather conditions.
The unfortunate circumstances meant that Gasly missed out on a potential championship win to Hiroaki Ishiura by just half a point.
Putting his disappointment aside, the Frenchman displayed a cheerful mood as he previewed his third weekend as a full-time Formula 1 driver.
“I’m really excited about the Mexican race weekend!” beamed Gasly.
“[Mexico is] a completely new track for me – I’ve never raced there, so it will be exciting to learn a new one.”
“I’ve been there as a reserve driver with Red Bull for the last two years and I think it’s a unique event.”
The atmosphere there is very special, the fans are great and very passionate.”
The 21-year-old spoke at length about the charm of the Hermanos Rodríguez circuit and the surrounding city.; the Mexican weekend has become one of the most popular weekends for fans and teams alike since its return to the calendar in 2015 after a 23 year absence.
“The part of the stadium in the last sector is also amazing, always full of spectators. It’s great to see all the grandstands completely full!”
“It’s a special city and we always visit it during Halloween or the ‘Day of the Dead’, and the whole city gets crazy about it – you see people dressed up and with painted faces invading the streets and enjoying the big ‘fiesta’!”
Turning towards on-track matters, Gasly emphasised his need to gain experience ahead of the end of the 2017 season and beyond, but remained coy over Toro Rosso’s chances.
“Hopefully we can have a great race weekend there.”
“I’ll keep pushing together with the team, I’ll try to do my best, keep gaining experience and I really hope we achieve a positive result!”
