“There’s a special atmosphere” – Pierre Gasly

Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda go into the final round of the season at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, knowing they will need a miracle to claim fifth place in the Constructors’ Standings, the team need at least thirty points to beat the Alpine F1 Team meaning a chaotic final race could go in their favour.

Pierre Gasly was one of the only drivers to have a fairly uneventful race at Saudi Arabia last weekend, the Frenchman secured a brilliant sixth place finish which saw him hit one-hundred points for the season. Gasly will be waiting to end the season on a high, especially as it’s the final time this spec of Formula One car will ever be seen, with the overhaul of new regulations in 2022.

Gasly is looking forward to this weekend, where he hopes to end this era of F1 car in style.

“Last year in Abu Dhabi I scored some points, starting tenth and finishing eighth. I’ve always liked it and there’s a special atmosphere as it’s the last race of the season, the end of all the hard work over a year. And even the track itself is quite interesting, although the layout has been changed for this year, making it overall a bit faster and more flowing, so I’m looking forward to seeing what effect that has on making overtaking easier.

“The weekend also marks the end of an era as it is the last time we race with these cars, the ones I’ve known since I started in F1, before the very big change to the technical rules comes in for next year, with new wheel sizes and a completely new look and design for the cars. So, it would be nice to end what has been a very good year for the team on a high note, showing a strong performance at the final race.” 

“There will be new things to learn this year for everyone” – Yuki Tsunoda

Yuki Tsunoda’s rookie season has been a highly eventful one, the Japanese driver has shone at times but has faltered at others. Tsunoda will be hoping to end his rookie year with a good result, at a circuit which he unsurprisingly has never raced at before!

Tsunoda does have some experience of the Yas Marina Circuit, having driven the track in the Young Driver Test last season. The rookie is looking forward to getting out on track and seeing what the new track layout is like, especially as it puts him on a more level playing field.

“As for Abu Dhabi, I have never raced there, but I have driven the Yas Marina track before in a Formula 1 car when I took part in the Young Driver Test at the end of last year. I still remember that test very well. I had driven an F1 car before, but never the current car from that actual season. It was very exciting for me, especially the first time out of the garage.  

“But actually, there will be new things to learn this year for everyone, as they have made quite big changes to the track layout to try and make overtaking easier. My first impression is that it’s now a much faster and more flowing layout and so it will be interesting to see what effect that has on tyre wear for example, as that used to be a consideration in the past.

“Even if the track will be very different, I still feel as though I know what it is like from my past experience there. It should be easier to adapt, so I plan to maximise the opportunity and score as many points as possible. It will be the last time I am racing as a rookie, so I plan to enjoy my last race with this status and see if we can finish the season on a high.” 

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