Pierre Gasly- “Spa is one of my favourite tracks, I love it”

As the FIA Formula 1 World Championship makes its return from a month-long summer break at this weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix, Pierre Gasly has spoken on his excitement to once again be stepping back into his AT03 car

The Scuderia AlphaTauri team struggled to gain any real momentum in the first half of the season, with the team sitting eight in the constructors amassing just twenty-seven points so far.

Gasly himself sits thirteenth in the driver’s championship and will be hoping for a stronger second half of the season kicking off this weekend at the Spa-Francorchamps Circuit. Speaking ahead of this weekend’s action, the Frenchman revealed how he used his summer break to recharge ahead of the final nine races of the season.

“I enjoyed the break, visiting Greece for the very first time for a week with friends and after that, it was more of a family time in France with my parents, all my brothers, nephews and nieces and then a couple of days in Spain. Nothing incredible, but it helped to unwind and be with my family, while also doing some training.

“Above all, I got plenty of rest prior to the final part of the season. After that it was back to work, starting with a trip to the simulator. Everyone has been hard at work since Monday and my phone is definitely much busier than it had been over the past three weeks!”

Gasly has insisted that despite a tough start to the season, he and his team will not be ‘throwing in the towel’ with just nine races remaining in the season. With the team now starting to understand upgrades that were debuted back at the French Grand Prix, Gasly remains hopeful that he can once again be back in the fight for the point-paying positions.

“Spa is one of my favourite tracks, I love it. We will be back on the starting block with three races in three weeks and after the break I am of course excited at the thought of getting back in the car and going racing again.

“The last few races before the break had been rather complicated for us, with no points scored and things did not go our way. It was not what we wanted as a team. Since France, we’ve had some updates on the car, which we now understand a bit better. But it’s still complicated and the midfield teams are all very close. We’re not throwing in the towel, we are continuing to work hard and give our maximum to try and bring out more performance from the car as quickly as possible, so that we can chase points every weekend.”

After last year’s washout to the Belgian Grand Prix, Gasly is eager to hit the track once again at the Spa-Francorchamps Circuit, which this year has delivered a number of changes to its layout with the aim of introducing safer racing around the famous circuit.

“Last year at Spa was a washout and this year, we will have our first look at the changes they have made to the track, particularly at Eau Rouge-Raidillon. Following what happened there with Anthoine, they have carried out an in-depth study and this is what they have come up with, along with further changes to some of the run-off areas and gravel traps.”

Yuki Tsunoda- “It will be interesting to experience the changes at Spa”

Credit: Scuderia Alpha Tauri

Meanwhile, on the other side of the Scuderia AlphaTauri garage, Yuki Tsunoda has revealed how he used the majority of his summer break training as the Japanese driver prepares to enter the final nine races of the season.

“I had a really nice time in the break, even though I spent a lot of it training. In the first week, I went to a training facility in Austria, also talking to a sports psychologist and working with a physio. In the middle week, I went away and just enjoyed myself and in the last week, I was back in Faenza training again, as well as doing some wakeboarding and other fun activities.

“So, I spent maybe 70% of the time training, but I know what works for me and I prefer not to reset completely in a break. I had a nice relaxing time, without my phone and without thinking about racing. It was good.”

Tsunoda currently sits sixteenth in the drivers’ championship with just eleven points to his name, but it is worth noting that the Scuderia Alpha Tauri driver has faced his fair share of bad luck this season.

While comfortably running in the points at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, damage to the DRS flap on his rear wing saw Tsunoda forced into a pitstop for temporary repairs which would deny him any chance at finishing in the points.

Also, after making Q3 at the French Grand Prix, contact with Esteban Ocon on the opening lap saw Tsunoda heading to the back of the pack and eventually forced into an early retirement.

Tsunoda’s future still remains uncertain ahead of the 2023 season and despite results not shining kindly on the 22-year-old at times this season, Tsunoda has vowed that his approach to each race weekend will not change in the second half of the season. 

“My approach to a race weekend won’t change from the way I did it in the first half of the season, but in terms of expectations, I will have made an effort to reset my mind, going back to zero. I feel stronger and refreshed with a strong motivation for this second half of the season.”

Just like his teammate, Tsunoda heads into this weekend’s action intrigued by how the changes to the track will affect the running around the Spa-Francorchamps Circuit this weekend.

“It will be interesting to experience the changes at Spa as I have only had a first taste of it on the simulator, although I don’t think the corner layouts have changed much. It’s mainly the run-off area at the top of Raidillon and some other run-offs are now gravel. Of course, I like the track a lot, especially the medium and high-speed corners. It’s definitely one of the best tracks on the calendar, it’s in my top five.”