Gasly tells bizarre anecdote about Ugunda trip for sponsorship money

Pierre Gasly told a special anecdote after the end of the season. The 25-year old driver was looking for sponsorship five years ago and seemed to have found it in a man from Uganda. Gasly set up a meeting, but it all went very differently.

In order to compete for Prema in GP2 in 2016, Gasly was diligently looking for sponsors in the preparations. The Frenchman's camp ended up with a person in Uganda. At the age of nineteen, he decided to travel to the African country. "I went to meet a person who said he wanted to help me. I decided to leave, even though there was a threat of social unrest, since it was in the middle of the election period there."

The best man, however, never showed up; a twelve hour flight for nothing. Gasly didn't receive any money and could return home. "What shocked me the most about the trip was seeing the poverty and living conditions in that country. We came through areas that looked like favelas," he told La Gazzetta dello Sport. "It was an experience that made me realize what the situation is like in some places in the world and how hard poverty hits some people."

Failed trip didn't hurt Gasly's career

In Uganda there are a lot of fraudsters active and although Gasly didn't get scammed himself, he had to pay for the time and effort he took to go to the country. Gasly was able to compete in GP2 that season. He even became champion with a lead of eight points over former F1-driver Antonio Giovinazzi. The following year, after a stop in Super Formula Japan, he started driving for Toro Rosso at the Malaysian Grand Prix.