Source: RacePictures.com

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Gasly ignored team orders in Brazil

Gasly ignored team orders in Brazil

12-11-2018 12:38
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Nicolás Quarles van Ufford

Toro Rosso's Pierre Gasly has ignored team orders in Brazil at Interlagos, it has been revealed, as the Frenchman wouldn't let his teammate Brendon Hartley past in the latter stages of the race.

Hartley caught up to Gasly in the last part of the race as the Kiwi was on fresh supersofts compared to Gasly's ageing mediums. Hartley was getting chased down by the Renault of Carlos Sainz and he was quicker than Gasly, so the 29-year-old asked the team if he could get past, something which the team authorized.

Still, Gasly didn't just let him past but made Hartley do an actual overtake with two laps to go.

“I had to do it two laps to the end because I was running out of fuel,” Gasly was quoted by PlanetF1.

“I didn’t have any fuel left for the end of the race I was just cruising the two last laps. I just think if you are in this position you should race.

“Plus he was on new super-soft tyres, I was dying with my mediums.

“I just told them OK, if he is faster he can overtake me but for some reasons I don’t know he didn’t do it for 10 laps.

“But then after we were in such a critical situation with the fuel that in the end I did it two laps to go.”

Gasly explained that him not letting Hartley past had all to do with the fact that they weren't racing for points, making the situation completely different.

“I think it’s different if you are in the top 10, there is something to play for,” the 22-year-old explained.

“Today there wasn’t anything to play for in P11, P12, P13.

“At the end I’m a racing driver, I’m here to race, that’s what I want and that’s what I like and that’s my perception of motorsport and how it should be.”