AlphaTauri's Pierre Gasly says the chaotic circumstances that marked the start of the Hungarian Grand Prix should have set him up for a podium finish in the eventful race.
Gasly qualified an impressive P5 at the Hungaroring and was ready to battle at the top of F1's mid-field.
But the Frenchman says his forward position on the grid proved to be anything but an advantageous position given the mayhem that took place at the first corner.
The AlphaTauri charger took to the far left as the field barreled down to Turn 1, but veered off course as he avoided the chaotic melee which left him well down the order once the dust had settled.
"I don’t know what to say except that Valtteri f***ed up, took the first six cars pretty much out of the race," he said.
"Luckily we didn’t get damage from it, compared to Max, Lando, Checo too.
©AlphaTauri
"You know, the target was to qualify high in the midfield, to be in the best possible position for the race, that’s what we did and, in the end, we can say we almost over-performed when we qualified ahead of the Ferrari and the McLaren.
"But, in the end, it would have been better to be in our natural position, slightly further back and benefit from this situation…
"You never know when these things will happen, but it’s just a shame."
As the recipient of a bout of luck last year at Monza when a red flag and circumstances propelled him to his maiden F1 win, Gasly knows all too well that when opportunity comes knocking, one must respond.
The Frenchman ultimately finished the Hungarian Grand Prix in fifth place, but he reckons that a podium should have been on the cards.
"From the first corner we were dead last, and in such a track it is extremely difficult to recover, so we had a really good day to still finish P6, we managed to get the fastest lap, but we should have been looking at the podium," he said.
"It’s a bit disappointing, because we think there would have been more to do if we had been slightly luckier at the start."
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