Gasly feels prepared for 'special' first Red Bull race

Pierre Gasly will take a major step forward in his Formula 1 career next weekend when he lines up on the grid in Australia in a Red Bull for the very first time.

Gasly took over the seat from Daniel Ricciardo over the winter and becomes Max Verstappen's team mate in 2019, having already completed 26 races with the junior Toro Rosso squad.

But now the 23-year-old Frenchman is keenly aware that he has to prove himself all over again - and quickly - in his new team.

"The race in Melbourne will be my first with Aston Martin Red Bull Racing, so of course I’m really excited to get this new season started," he commented this week.

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"It’s going to be a special weekend for me wearing Aston Martin Red Bull Racing colours.

"It’s only my second full season in Formula 1 and there are a lot of things to learn this year, which makes it even more challenging," he added. "I’ve prepared myself well all winter for this first race and first season with the team."

"Everybody at the track is super positive and excited about the start of the new season and the paddock has a good vibe."

It's the second time that Gasly will be racing at Melbourne's Albert Park Circuit and he'll be hoping that it goes better than his 2018 debut.

He suffered a power unit issue just 13 laps into last year's race which forced him to retire. He'll be hoping that 12 months of development by Honda has resulted in a more reliable and powerful engine for this campaign.

"It’s my second time in Melbourne and I really loved it when I went there for the first time last year," he said.

"It has an amazing atmosphere. I don’t know if it’s because it’s the first race of the year, but there’s something special about it and the people are really relaxed and joyful."

While the team had a largely successful time in pre-season testing, a crash for Gasly during the second week had subsequently cost time and kept the engineers busy.

“It wasn’t the best end of the two weeks," Gasly admitted, looking back at the costly incident. "I need to learn from these mistakes.

"I will remember the positives and work on the negatives," he said. “Obviously, I am not feeling as comfortable as I would like with the car, and it is my job to set it up how I want, with the team around me.”

He was certainly feeling appropriately Bullish about the potential of the RB15 to upset the frontrunners at Mercedes and Ferrari.

“I think overall, the package, the first feeling with it was great."

Team boss Christian Horner also pronounced himself happy with the team's preparations and the state of its new partnership with Honda.

“It is the start of a new era for Red Bull Racing with Honda,” Horner told Reuters. “We have had a positive pre-season and are hopeful and optimistic for the season ahead.”

“Everything we have seen from the power unit so far - its reliability, its performance, the way it's incorporated into the chassis - is extremely encouraging."

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