Gasly apologizes to Red Bull for 'annoying' FP2 crash

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Pierre Gasly offered an apology to his Red Bull crew for the extra work forced upon them as a result of the heavy crash he suffered at the end of Friday's second practice session at Hockenheim.

With minutes remaining on the clock in FP2, Gasly ran wide at the exit of the final corner and slammed into the barriers, heavily damaging the left side of his RB15.

"It was quite a tricky day today," Gasly said.

"We managed to get some decent laps during FP1 and the feeling with the car was good.

"We completed the normal tests and then in FP2, we had a couple of issues which meant we didn’t get a short run on soft tyres and that put us back in the classifications, but the feeling was still good.

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"Unfortunately, towards the end of the session I lost the car exiting the final corner during a long run and hit the barrier.

"Fortunately, I wasn’t using my race engine or gearbox, but more importantly I’m really sorry for the boys in the garage and I want to apologise to them as the repairs will make for a long night."

Gasly's mishap came after a good race weekend at Silverstone that boosted the Frenchman's confidence amid rumors that Red Bull could drop the 23-year-old.

Red Bull motorsport boss Helmut Marko denied Gasly's seat was in peril, but the Austrian was also unimpressed with Friday's blunder.

"It was a simple driving mistake, there was no problem with the race car, Pierre just lost the car out of control," Marko told Speedweek.

"I hope that does not dampen Gasly's confidence.

"But the focus is currently on the question of whether we can repair the car. We certainly do not lack our skills, but we are starting to run out of spare parts."

Red Bull team boss Christian Horner labeled the incident as "annoying" for the Milton Keynes-based team.

"It’s frustrating to lose a car at that point in the session," Horner told Sky Sports F1.

"Off the back of a good result in Silverstone it’s not the start to the weekend you want.

"It’s an annoying accident."

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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.