AlphaTauri driver Pierre Gasly had an incredible performance at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. However, he opened up about his battle with mental health.
The French driver also revealed how the death of a friend impacted him and also how things panned out after he was dropped by Red Bull.
Gasly’s Formula 1 debut was back in 2017 with Toro Rosso, the sister team of Red Bull. By 2019, he made his way up to Red Bull partnering with Max Verstappen.
Gasly did not make Red Bull his home
Unfortunately, Gasly was unable to get used to the RB15 and out-qualified Verstappen only once. As a result, Red Bull dropped him back to Toro Rosso and replaced him with Alexander Albon.
Soon after he joined Toro Rosso, he lost a dear old friend Anthoine Hubert whom he had known since he was seven.
Hubert lost his life after a high-speed incident with Juan Manuel Correa back at the Belgium Grand Prix.
What did Gasly say?
“I am someone that is never going to give up on my target, winning the world championship, but sometimes it is important to understand we are not lions in a cage for people going to the zoo. There is us as athletes and the person behind it,” he said.
“People struggle to understand that we also feel emotions, we also have our ups and downs. It doesn’t matter if you are successful or not, we saw it with Naomi [Osaka] in the tennis with the mental health issues.
“People outside see you as a driver and assume that is the only thing that goes through your head but you have a personal life, feelings, and emotions,” he stated.
Franz Tost: “Belongs with top drivers”
AlphaTauri team boss, Franz Tost had words of praise for the young driver.
“He belongs with the absolutely top drivers, because he gets everything out of the car, doesn’t make mistakes, and brings home points,” said Tost.
Tost might want to keep Gasly with the team for a while. But the French driver might want to look for opportunities elsewhere.
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