Gasly looking forward to fighting for points again in Brazil

Ahead of a race weekend in Brazil where he'll be spared a tactical penalty, Toro Rosso's Pierre Gasly is looking forward to a top-ten finish at Interlagos.

The young Frenchman, along with his Toro Rosso team mate Brendon Hartley, saw his races in Austin and Mexico City impacted by grid penalties following Honda's decision to change multiple components on its latest power unit.

However, barring any unforeseen circumstances, it should be a penalty-free clean run for Gasly who will be racing for the second time at Interlagos after his maiden run in 2017.

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"Last year was my first race in Sao Paulo and I enjoyed the experience," said Gasly said in Toro Rosso's Brazilian Grand Prix preview.

"You get a real feel for just how important Formula 1 is in Brazil, with Ayrton Senna and the other champions it produced in the past.

"I really appreciated that and I also thought the track layout was very good. It has a lot of character with an interesting variety of corners and kerbs that you have to ride, I enjoyed driving it.

"In the race, I started from down the back of the grid with penalties and managed to finish not far off the points in twelfth.

"I’m looking forward to fighting for points again, after we have taken tactical penalties in the last few races to maximise our chances in these final two races of the season."

As a native of a region of France where rain is usually in oversupply, Gasly has no inhibitions about racing in the wet. A quality that may come in handy next weekend given the potential vagaries of the local weather.

"It often rains in Sao Paulo and I love driving in the wet, because it makes life a bit more complicated for the drivers so it can be more fun and the driver has a greater impact on performance," he admits.

"Naturally, coming from Normandy, I drove a lot in the wet when I was starting in karts.

"Another interesting point is that the track is anticlockwise and all of the straights are not really straight, so even there you are always turning, sometimes for around 15 seconds in the opposite direction to usual.," he added.

"I remember from last year you can feel it in your neck, but I’ve prepared for that specifically, so I don’t expect any problems."

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