Pierre Gasly heads into the 2022 season with ambition of racing consistently among F1's top five "and even higher" if AlphaTauri's all-new AT03 is up to the task.
Last year, Gasly was often singled out by pundits as one of F1's top drivers, with the Frenchman making the most of his team's 2021 car and racking in a career best of 110 points in the Drivers' championship.
With the introduction of a new set of regulations and his belief in AlphaTauri's ability to field a competitive car, a bullish Gasly has upgraded his target for this year.
"My approach will be the same as the one I adopted last year," said the Frenchman following the presentation of AlphaTauri's 2022 contender.
"I will be trying to build on the run I had of very good results and to continue to be on top of my game with the car I have.
"I really hope that this is a year when I can fight at the very front, to finish regularly in the top five and even higher if the car is good enough for that."
©AlphaTauri
Gasly says he'll give it his best short but insists he's prepared himself "mentally" for "any possible scenario"
"We must be prepared to deal with whatever situations arise," he said.
"So, mentally, I’ve prepared myself to deal with any possible scenario and, personally, I will be pushing the team to always do its best.
"Last year we came very close to fifth place in the constructors’ championship and it would be super to achieve that this year. It’s too early to say if that will be possible but I will always give it my best shot and get the most out of our car."
Gasly says this year's regulation overhaul could lead to a few big surprises as teams face the challenge of getting to grips with their new concepts.
"I think we will have to tackle it with an open mind, being ready for any eventuality," he said.
"It’s a fresh start for all the teams, starting pretty much from zero as we are really looking at a clean sheet of paper scenario.
"It will be a big challenge for the teams to work out how to build the best car possible to comply with the new regulations. I hope that it works really well for us.
"I have no doubts about our team’s abilities and, as of now, they are quite pleased with the work they have done.
"Like everyone, they’ve been working on it for many months now, but it’s difficult to have an idea of what we can expect until the car goes out on track in Barcelona for the first time.
"Then we will get an idea of how the car behaves and how we look compared to the others. I’m sure this season will be full of surprises."
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