Returning to Spa-Francorchamps is "hard and strange" for Pierre Gasly a year on from the death of close friend Anthoine Hubert.
The Formula 2 driver was killed in a horrific crash when his already damaged car was hit at high-speed in last year's feature race at the top of Eau Rouge.
12 months on, F1 will remember him with a minute's silence before the start on Sunday as well as all drivers carrying a special AH19 logo on their helmets.
But Hubert's loss was a particularly big blow to Gasly, who reflected on their long friendship on Thursday.
“I have thousands of memories of Antoine and I was lucky to grow up with him,” said the AlphaTauri driver via RaceFans.
“From my first season in karting when I was nine I started to race against him. Then from the age of 13, we both decided to leave our homes to go in the school that the federation sort of built for us, for drivers.
“We were the only three French drivers to make the move. There was Anthoine, another French driver and myself. From the age of 13 ’til I was 18, I spent basically from 7:30 breakfast in the morning ’til 10pm in the evening, every single day together.
"We were in the same classes, we were training together, we were racing together. So it’s difficult to pick only one [memory].
“There was consistent competition, whether we were in the class, when we were training together. If he was doing 15 push-ups, I would do 16 and then he would try 17. If we would play PlayStation we would spend hours just to beat the time of each other on Gran Turismo or the Formula 1 game.”
Indeed, in Gasly's view if it wasn't for the childhood competition Hubert provided, he may have never achieved his own goal of reaching F1.
“[He was] a rival but at the same time I truly know that I would have never achieved what I did without growing with him because we were pushing each other so much, whether it was on-track or off the track," he continued.
"It just made me a better athlete, made me a better driver and always pushed myself to deliver more, find more within myself. It’s been part of my self-development as a person and as a driver and I can only be grateful for that.”
Also Read:
- Mixed emotions for Leclerc, Gasly at Spa a year on from Hubert death
- Gasly urged Leclerc to win for Hubert as pair reflect on friendship
Earlier on Thursday, during the track walk, Gasly was seen laying flowers in an emotional moment at the top of Eau Rouge where the incident happened.
And to be back at the Belgian circuit filled the 24-year-old with all kinds of emotions.
"Returning to Spa has been quite hard and strange because Spa is my favourite track and I always came here with great memories from my first win in single-seaters and Formula 4, two-litres and GP2 and the different wins I had here," he admitted.
"This year is a different story because soon as I put one foot in the paddock I just have these images that come back in my mind and things I don’t want to accept or I struggle to accept.
“During the track walk, I just had these images and footage in mind that I wish would have never happened. Unfortunately, that’s the danger of our sport but it’s just hard to accept. Even doing this felt wrong, doing this special helmet and dropping these flowers.
“[I was] thinking how I was with him after Budapest last year. I had Sunday dinner with him and we shared a nice moment with his girlfriend and other friends on Sunday night after Budapest. This was the last time I saw him.
“He was one of the first ones to send me a text when Red Bull decided to put me back in Toro Rosso. For me, it’s just very hard to accept he’s not with us anymore.”
