AlphaTauri's Pierre Gasly has admitted that he's not happy with how things have gone for him in the most recent races of the 2021 Formula 1 season.
The 25-year-old French driver missed out on points in the British Grand Prix after suffering a late puncture while running in eighth place.
"The last race at Silverstone was frustrating as we lost a couple of points because of the puncture at the end," he said this week. "Someone had thrown some gravel onto the track and it cut my tyre.
"Overall, I’d say Silverstone was my worst weekend of the season, especially as it looked as though we could have salvaged between two and four points.
"It was annoying that we couldn’t take them, but that’s how it goes sometimes and now we definitely have things to review," adding that the introduction of the new sprint qualifying format had been a factor.
"We had to deal with more complications than we expected and the new format didn’t really allow us much time to sort things out after free practice, before going straight to qualifying and parc ferme."
Prior to Silverstone, Gasly had mixed fortunes in the double-header at the Red Bull Ring, crashing out at the start of the Styrian Grand Prix before picking up a couple of points with ninth place in the Austrian GP the following week.
"In Austria there was the collision with Charles, which cost me some points, and then that puncture," he confirmed. "So honestly I was a bit fed up with how things went generally in the past few races."
Before that, it had been a much more positive run for Gasly in the opening races of the season. After a retirement in the first race in Bahrain, he put together a string of six consecutive points finishes including a podium in Azerbaijan.
"We got off to a very strong start to the season, so now it will be important to have a good end to the first part of the year in Budapest," he said.
©AlphaTauri
"I have done well in the past at the Hungaroring, winning in Formula 2 and scoring points a couple of times in Formula 1. It’s a circuit I like a lot, as there are no real straights and plenty of corners.
"In the cockpit you are always doing something – braking, turning, or managing the throttle. There’s very little time spent in a straight line and I enjoy that.
"It means it’s important to get into a good rhythm and so I find it really enjoyable to drive. Of course, it’s always a really physical challenge with no chance to rest on the lap.
"Plus it looks like it’s going to be another very hot weekend given the heat in Europe at the moment, but I feel ready for it."
However Gasly is taking a realistic view of what AlphaTauri can do this weekend.
"In terms of our chances there, we have seen in the past couple of weekends that McLaren and Ferrari have made a big step forward," he said.
"We know we are fighting for fifth in the championship with Alpine and Aston Martin and that’s the target we must aim for.
"I think that in Budapest we will have a chance of being in the mix with these two teams, but we will need to have a very good weekend, benefitting from the full potential that is there in our package."
Looking further ahead, Gasly is keen to enjoy some time off after a packed programme of races with the summer shutdown in August. "I think it will be good for everyone after an intense first part of the year," he said.
"We know the next part of the season is going to be very demanding, so being able to rest in a year with 23 races planned, the most ever, will be important.
"It is going to be tough towards the end of the year, both physically and psychologically, so a bit of time for everyone to spend with their families is a good thing.”
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