Red Bull Toro Rosso Honda Team Principal Franz Tost said Pierre Gasly did “a fantastic job” to finish seventh in the Monaco Grand Prix, despite the team not getting “everything out of [their] package in qualifying“.
Gasly qualified in tenth place, whilst team-mate Brendon Hartley failed to make it out of the first qualifying session and settled for sixteenth. Some of team’s fortunes changed during the race though, as Gasly was able to make his Hypersoft tyres last a considerable amount of time – helping him to stay out longer – whilst Hartley was taken out by Charles Leclerc, who had suffered a brake failure.
Speaking after the race Tost said this second points-finish of the season for Gasly was “a fantastic job“, whilst Hartley’s retirement was unfortunate.
“From Thursday onwards we were quite competitive, unfortunately, we did not get everything out of our package in qualifying, but what counts is the race,” said Tost. “Pierre Gasly did a fantastic job finishing in seventh place, he controlled the race from the beginning onwards and he really took care of his tyres.
“Taking into consideration it was his first time here in Monaco in a Formula 1 car, he managed the tyres in a very professional way, therefore we could stay out with the Hypersoft so long. The strategy was also absolutely correct, calling him in very late which put him in seventh position.
“Brendon Hartley was close to scoring some points, but unfortunately, Leclerc crashed into his rear and he could not finish the race.”
Looking forward to the Canadian Grand Prix in two weeks’ time, Tost said that despite the track being almost completely different – long, fast straights compared to Monaco’s lower-speed, shorter nature – the team are expecting a similar level of performance in Montreal.
“We are now looking forward to Canada, where we expect a similar performance as we’ve had in Monaco,” he said.
