How Pierre Gasly Beat Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes to the Line in Brazil

Recently, Alpha Tauri driver Pierre Gasly spoke to Will Buxton on various subjects. Among them, he spoke about his surprise podium at the 2019 Brazilian Grand Prix. According to the Frenchman, the team tested high downforce, medium downforce, and low downforce setups., which helped in out dragging Lewis Hamilton at the finish.

How Gasly beat Lewis Hamilton to the line

However, he was more attuned to the low downforce, because it gave him more top speed. In addition to that, it allows the driver more chances to fight for places and defend. In the end, the team opted for the medium downforce, because they also had to think of the tyres, and that made all the difference.

Pierre Gasly also revealed that he managed to save some battery power for the final corner and the run-up to the line. So, once he exited the last corner, he immediately went for it in full force. In fact, when he crossed the line, he had nearly depleted his battery. As it turned out, it was enough to hold Lewis Hamilton at bay and grab an unexpected podium.

What else did Pierre Gasly say?

He confessed, “The timing was almost perfect for us and it worked out for a couple of hundreds. I could not have imagined a better finish for my podium. Obviously, the first podium in Formula One is something… it’s a big achievement, especially in that weekend because I didn’t expect any podium.”

He noted that especially after such an intense year, with everything that happened, he focused on scoring points. Gasly even admitted that getting his face plastered on the front pages of almost every newspaper in France was special. Apparently, he also became the youngest French driver to visit the podium since Jean Alesi in 1990.

Now, Gasly and Daniil Kvyat were looking forward to kicking off the 2020 Formula One season with their contemporaries. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic has forced almost everything to a standstill. The good news is that the season may finally commence by the first week of July,