Pierre Gasly hopes to get a good result for Red Bull Toro Rosso Honda this weekend at the Red Bull Ring as Austria plays host to round nine of the 2018 Formula 1 season.
The Red Bull Ring is owned by Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz, and Gasly hopes to bring home his third top ten finish of the season on Sunday having enjoyed positive results in junior categories at the circuit, including points finishes in both of his visits in the GP2 Series.
“This weekend, we follow up my home race with one of the team’s home races, because even if we are an Italian team, we are part of the Austrian Red Bull family,” said Gasly. “I’ve had a few podium finishes at this circuit in the junior categories.
“The track is really very fast with several straight sections. I remember racing there in GP2 as a Red Bull junior driver, I had a lot of support as it’s pretty much a Red Bull weekend. So now I’m looking forward to experiencing that as a Formula 1 driver.
“I think it’s going to be a special weekend, after experiencing all the support at my home race, I expect it will have a great atmosphere and a good vibe. I hope we will be competitive, because I really want to get a good result at this place.”
Gasly admits he prefers tracks with more corners than what the Red Bull Ring possesses, but with lap records dropping at every track so far in 2018, the Frenchman is expecting this weekend to be no exception.
“It’s a very short lap; you’re looking at a time of just under 1m 10 seconds,” said the Frenchman. “It’s a very quick race made up of a huge number of laps.
“I tend to prefer tracks with a lot of corners, but at least the straights provide passing opportunities. I like fast corners and there are plenty of those in the middle of the track so, given the levels of downforce we are running this year, and the fact we have seen the lap records broken at every track so far, I reckon it’s going to be a really impressive weekend from a driving point of view.
“I can appreciate that the location is really beautiful too, but I have to admit I am more of a city boy!”
