Pierre Gasly is worried Formula 1’s return to Zandvoort could see a “replay of Monaco” at the Dutch Grand Prix.
The circuit will host its first F1 race since 1985 this weekend, a year later than originally planned after the last season’s comeback was cancelled due to Covid-19.
And heading to the Netherlands, Gasly is keen to continue the momentum from a positive weekend in Belgium, where the AlphaTauri driver qualified and finished sixth after the race was washed out.
“It doesn’t matter that Formula 1 is the most high-tech sport in the world, nobody can control the weather,” said the Frenchman reflecting on last Sunday’s frustrations.
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“It was a real shame we couldn’t race, especially for all the fans who turned out and waited patiently. And for us, it was also disappointing because we had a strong weekend up to that point, with another sixth place on the grid.
“I was convinced I had a chance of doing something really good in the race. At least we don’t have long to wait to race again, so I will take the positives from our Spa performance and transfer them now to Zandvoort.”
Like most drivers, Gasly does have past experience at the Dutch track in junior formulas and though changes have been made to encourage better racing, he fears qualifying will be crucial again.
“I raced there in 2012 in Formula Renault 2.0, so quite a long time ago!” He said. “The track layout has changed a lot since then and I’ve experienced it on the simulator.
“I think the whole weekend should be an amazing experience, being the first Dutch Grand Prix since Max [Verstappen] has been in Formula 1.
“It will be an interesting weekend, a replay of Monaco in some respects as the straights are very short and the track itself is very narrow, so overtaking will be particularly complicated.
“That means qualifying will be especially important and as we seem to perform quite well in that respect, it could turn out to be a good thing for us.
“Another factor is that being by the sea, we can expect to find a dusty track surface on Friday with sand blowing onto the asphalt, so conditions will evolve over the weekend.”