Reflecting on a disappointing Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Scuderia Toro Rosso‘s Pierre Gasly laments a costly mistake in the race, and the team’s failure to retain the sixth place in the constructors’ championship it held going into the finale. Prior to the race, the Faenza-based outfit had a four-point lead over the Renault Sport F1 Team, however, an impressive sixth-place finish for Nico Hulkenberg was enough to tip the balance in the Anglo-French team’s favour.
“I’m really disappointed with the fact of not being able to keep sixth place in the championship… This was the target – we knew it would be tough, but in the end, it wasn’t possible.”
The Frenchman – who collected two poles and a victory in Abu Dhabi during his GP2 career – span at the penultimate corner of the Yas Marina circuit on lap 16, and was unable to recover thereafter. This caps-off a disappointing final three races for Toro Rosso, which haven’t produced any points and subjected the team to repeated Renault power unit failures.
“We struggled a lot in today’s race, it’s been a really tough day and I’m not satisfied with I did. I pushed too much and did a mistake which cost me a lot of time. It’s frustrating to end the season like this and I feel sorry for the team for not having achieved the target.
“On the positive, these last races with Toro Rosso have been very useful for me to gain plenty of experience and this will definitely help me to start next year on the right foot. I’m already looking forward to 2018.”
Gasly and team-mate Brendon Hartley were confirmed as Toro Rosso’s line-up for 2018 prior to the Abu Dhabi finale.
