Gasly: "Because of that it's less fun on the circuits"

With just a few days to go until the last Grand Prix of 2020, it is AlphaTauri who are already looking ahead to Abu Dhabi. Next year the team will, in any case, continue with Pierre Gasly, who has done pretty good business in 2020. Among other things with a victory over Monza. Winning is probably not an option at the moment, but Gasly has confidence in a good result.

Chance of a good weekend

"We are real night owls at the moment with a third race under floodlights coming up. But it’s nice to race when it’s a bit cooler in the evening. I like these races and Singapore too as it makes a change from usual," Gasly starts his preview.

"I am always optimistic by nature, so I think we can have a good weekend and, even if the team’s history at this track isn’t great, I think we can change that this year. I like the track a lot, especially the last sector, which is very technical where you get into a rhythm through a lot of corners," which is a contrast to the first two sectors. But that is where Gasly expects to make a profit this year.

"The first two sectors are more about engine power with all the straights, this year we have made a good step forward on this front and we are competitive, so I reckon we should have a good race pace."

But whether that is enough to fight for the points will have to be seen.

Less fun than usual

The year 2020 is, of course, also a strange sensation for drivers as all the grandstands are partly filled where they used to be simply empty. That has such an effect, says Gasly: "It’s true that with all the restrictions it’s been less enjoyable, I’m thinking mainly of the fact we hardly saw any fans at the circuits all year, so it lacked a bit of energy and atmosphere."

But finally, Gasly says that they should not complain. "But overall, we were very lucky to have such a busy season, because there are plenty of other sports where that has not been the case. We actually managed to get pretty much a complete season of racing which is great. Even if for some people, there were difficult times and unpleasant memories, for me it will always be a historic year as the year of my first Formula 1 win."