2016 GP2 champion Pierre Gasly has admitted his delight at finally earning a chance to compete in Formula 1 with Toro Rosso, ahead of his debut this weekend in Malaysia.
The Frenchman has been on the sidelines for quite some time with many expecting him to step up this season, instead, he has competed in Japan’s Super Formula, where he sits half a point behind in second in the championship with one weekend to go.
But now, as the junior Red Bull team look for a replacement for Renault-bound Carlos Sainz in 2018, the 21-year-old has been given the opportunity to show what he can do, replacing Daniil Kvyat for the next two weekends at least.
“I think F1 is brand new for me, it will be my first GP but there is no real target,” Gasly said, looking ahead to Sepang. “Of course I’m here to learn as quickly as possible and perform for the team but at the moment I think I need to take each step at at time, learn as quickly as possible next to Carlos and then we will see where we are.
“I’ve been dreaming about this weekend so many times and it’s finally happening. So I’m just excited, I’m also competitive, of course, I want to do well but also need to be objective. Coming in with six races to go for me there will be many things to learn and I’m just going to try to do my best to learn as quickly as possible.”
There has been uncertainty over just how many Gasly will get, though he is expected to miss at least the United States GP in Austin to compete in the Super Formula season finale, which falls on the same weekend.
Not even the man himself can answer that question, when asked: “At the moment I don’t know how many races I’m going to do in F1, there is nothing confirmed. The team told me to focus on this weekend, I’ll try to do my best.”
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He did admit some disappointment, however, that his chance had to come at the expense of Kvyat, who has gone from a podium last year in China with the Red Bull team, to not having a seat at all just 32 races later.
“Being in my position before I came to F1 I was waiting for the chance and then you have to take it off someone else. Of course I feel sorry for him, I think he’s a really good driver, talented,” Gasly said of the Russian.
“Unfortunately it’s happened and I’m going to take his seat but I’m pretty sure we’ll see him back on the grid at some point maybe and we’ll see what’s going to happen in the near future.”
