Problems for Gasly, early grid penalty seems inevitable
F1 News
- GPblog.com
For Pierre Gasly, like his two Red Bull Racing colleagues, the new season began with a crash in Bahrain. For the AlphaTauri driver, who had to pull his burning car to the side, it has potentially major consequences and an early grid penalty seems inevitable.
Gasly's battery ruined
After 44 laps, the Frenchman had to abandon his race. Soon the flames flew out of his AlphaTauri. Gasly himself escaped with a fright, but the fire could have major consequences for his car. On Speedweek.com Gasly let us know that it is not yet sure if other engine parts are damaged and if he can drive with the same chassis in Saudi Arabia.
At least one thing seems certain, the battery of Gasly's AlphaTauri is ruined. This could soon start to have major consequences. According to the regulations, each driver is only allowed to use two batteries per season. Any changes after that will result in a grid penalty. With Gasly having to replace his battery after only one Grand Prix, an early grid penalty seems inevitable this season.
Speed of the AlphaTauri is encouraging
According to Gasly, there was no indication that anything was wrong with the car. "Coming out of the first corner the car just switched off," he said. Very disappointing for the team that had no problems during the test days. "This sport brings you back down to earth very quickly," Gasly put the incident into perspective.
Despite the failure, AlphaTauri can be satisfied with the speed. Gasly qualified in tenth place and was able to hold his own in the top ten during the race. Yuki Tsunoda had a disappointing qualification, but scored the first points for the team with his eighth place.