Pierre Gasly believes he was only “partly responsible” for the lack of performance which saw him dropped by Red Bull during the summer.
The Frenchman became the second driver to be demoted back to Toro Rosso after a difficult first 12 races which had only seen him beat Max Verstappen once and become an increasing liability at the team.
While his exit was often predicted, Gasly admits it was still a surprise when he got the call because of the reassurances he had got.
“I found out in the morning it was decided. Of course, it was kind of a shock and disappointed because it’s not what I had been told before or after Budapest,” he said ahead of Sunday’s Belgian Grand Prix.
“The team said I was going to drive until the end of the year, and that’s what I believed.”
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Instead, he is now back at Toro Rosso, but reflecting on his stint at the senior team Gasly claims he deserved more time.
“There are things I could have done better over that first half of the season, I’m partly responsible,” he conceded.
“I think all of us were responsible for the lack of performance and points we ended up having, but there were many things going in the right way even though we still had a few issues.
“Now there is no point to discuss it and I don’t really want to talk about it because it’s over,” he added.
“I’ve had some good lessons that are going to be useful for the rest of the season, but I need to focus on what I can change and what’s going to make me faster in the coming months.”
And Gasly isn’t giving up on returning to Red Bull next year.
“I am not thinking about it now, but that’s what they say, and for sure there will be other opportunities,” he concluded.