Red Bull's Gasly takes responsibility for Barcelona crash

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Red Bull Racing's Pierre Gasly held himself accountable for the mistake that led to the biggest crash of his career and to an all-nighter for his mechanics in Barcelona.

On his final day of pre-season testing, Gasly had put the RB15 at the top of the timesheet in Thursday's afternoon session.

But a slight driver error on the entry to Turn 9 saw the Frenchman slide off the track and hit the barriers broadside, an impact that heavily damaged the RB15's left side.

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Apologies to his team were in order as the Red Bull crews prepared for an all-night repair job at the Circuit de Catalunya.

"I made a mistake in Turn 9 and basically lost the car," explained a shaken Gasly.

"It was a pretty big crash, one of the biggest crashes I've had.

"[It's going to be] a long night for the mechanics, I'm sorry for them, but the most important is we can get Max in the car tomorrow and we can focus on the positives.

"We managed to do a lot of testing today and we have a lot of things to analyse.

"It’s not an ideal way to end the final test, but over the four days we managed to get lots of laps in and that was positive," he added.

"We have good performance and we just need to understand how to maximise the package, so we bring the best car we can to Melbourne."

Red Bull Racing's head of engineering Guillaume Rocquelin was confident that Thursday's drama would not compromise the team's plans for its last day of testing.

"The crash was simply a case of Pierre going slightly wide into Turn 9 and losing control," said Rocquelin.

"You’re pretty much flat out there, so if it goes wrong, you’re going to feel it. Thankfully Pierre is OK.

"We have a long night ahead of us in order to get the car ready for tomorrow, however today’s incident shouldn’t compromise our plans.

"Prior to Pierre’s off, we had a good morning. We worked on how we manage a qualifying session, which is good knowledge for the driver and it gets the pit crew back in the zone.

"The incident was unfortunate but these things happen. We’ll deal with it and move on."

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Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.