Gasly ready to get his elbows out after amazing Saturday

AlphaTauri's Pierre Gasly was beaming with joy after bagging an impressive P7 in qualifying for Sunday's 70th Anniversary Grand Prix.

The Frenchman cleared the successive segments of qualifying with remarkable easing, posting on his way the fourth fastest time in Q2 after a perfect lap.

Gasly attributed his solid pace to overnight changes implemented on the team's AT01.

©AlphaTauri

"That was an amazing Saturday and I’m very happy about my qualifying result!" said an ecstatic Gasly.

"Yesterday was a bit difficult for us, but the team did a fantastic job from Friday to Saturday and made the right changes overnight to give me a car that gives me the possibility to push to the maximum.

"It was great to be P4 in Q2 and to finish Q3 in P7, ahead of the two Ferraris, McLaren and a Red Bull, it was the best result we could have hoped for.

"Now we focus on tomorrow’s race, ready to get our elbows out and try to do the best I can to get a good result for the team."

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Despite his favorable starting position, Gasly isn't expecting an easy Sunday driver in the points come race day, with tyre strategy a major focus tomorrow.

"I don't think it's going to be that easy with the tyres," he warned. 'We'll start with the medium which was our plan.

"I think it's going to be quite tough, obviously we know with the compounds this weekend it's probably going to go towards two stops.

"We need to have a look at the numbers, maybe one stop if that's possible, but we'll see how it goes."

Gasly praised his team for supplying him with a car from which he can extract the most.

"The team is doing fantastic because they always mange to give me a car where I feel I can push to the maximum on Saturday and Sunday. Today we really manged to max it out, and hopefully we can do the same job tomorrow."

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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.