Pierre Gasly can see the "progress" Honda are making

Toro Rosso driver Pierre Gasly has explained the "progress made" in their car from the last race in Suzuka.

Sean Gelael will take part in FP1 behind the wheel of the STR13 this weekend and he is understandably very excited for the opportunity.

"I am super happy and excited to get things rolling again," Galael said. "I did FP1 in Austin last year so it's a track I know, even though it was a bit damp last year! The last time I was in the car was for the Budapest test, so I'm looking forward to working with the team again, hopefully they're excited as well."

Gasly missed last season's race at the Circuit of the Americas following Super Formula Championship duties and he is confident that his Toro Rosso team can carry on their recent progress this weekend.

"Last year, I would have been racing in Austin, but it clashed with the final round of the Super Formula Championship at Suzuka in Japan," Gasly said. "I had a chance of winning that, but the race was cancelled because of the bad weather: so it wasn't the best weekend for me.

"We saw in qualifying in Japan that our car has made a good step forward and our race pace was good, so we have made real progress and I hope that continues in the United States."