Pierre Gasly wants to "enjoy the moment" at Paul Ricard next weekend amid the uncertainty that currently surrounds the future of the French Grand Prix.
As one of two local heroes racing at Le Castellet, with Esteban Ocon completing France's representation, Gasly will be spurred on by his country's fans.
But with rumors the race could fall off the calendar after this year's edition, it may well be a temporary farewell event for the AlphaTauri charge and French F1 fans in general. .
"It’s a special weekend as it’s my home race, particularly this year as there is some uncertainty over the future of the French Grand Prix," commented Gasly in AlphaTauri's French Grand Prix preview.
"We are not sure if it stays on the calendar or not for next year, so I want to enjoy the moment and share it with all my fans, supporters and French F1 racing enthusiasts.
"In fact, we’ve organised a special Gasly grandstand at the chicane on the back straight for my fans.
"It’s nice to be able to do something a bit more personal and to connect with them a bit more than usual.
"It’s going to be a good atmosphere and I hope we can perform well enough to deliver a good result in front of the French crowd."
Unfortunately, AlphaTauri's most recent results have offered the team and its drivers little cause to rejoice, with no points put on the board by either Gasly of teammate Yuki Tsunoda in the last three events, in part due to their lack of making it into Q3 in qualifying
However, hopes of an upswing have materialized in the form of a significant upgrade package that will be introduced in France next weekend.
"They are mainly on the aero-side and they should deliver a real step up in performance," said Gasly. "So I’m keen to try them out at Ricard, in the hope that they can put us back in the fight for points."
Tsunoda agrees that it's time AlphaTauri returns to the top-ten in both qualifying and on race day.
"It’s really time we return to getting into Q3 to make it easier to score points on Sunday," said the Japanese charger who also hopes the team's updates will result in a clear step forward.
"We’ve gone for a major upgrade rather than lots of small ones. The new upgrade is focused on adding more load to the car, as we were quite weak in the medium to high-speed corners.
"Hopefully, it will bring us more consistency and allow us to fight at the top of the midfield again."
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