GASLY IS INSPIRED BY SENNA IN IMOLA

Formula 1’s return to Imola has inspired Pierre Gasly to pay tribute to Ayrton Senna who tragically died at the Italian track over 16 years ago.

AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly says a multitude of reasons were behind his starring performance in Imola’s qualifying session in which he ended up P4.

The Frenchman will line-up for the start of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix alongside former Red Bull team-mate Max Verstappen, as he equalled his best-ever qualifying finish in F1.

With the second AlphaTauri car of Daniil Kvyat also making it into the top ten, Gasly says that a number of factors have helped the Red Bull sister team to achieve its strong performance.

“For me it’s a great day,” Gasly said. “I did my best qualifying for the team, P4 I think was also my best in Red Bull, so it’s my best ever in Formula 1, and to do it in Imola, is also very special.

“Obviously for me, I did this special helmet for Ayrton because I’ve always been a big, big fan of Senna since I was a kid. He was one of my idols, and it was important for me to do it here, but also for all the team, because they are only 15 kilometres from this track. So it’s a great start to the weekend.”

And Gasly is aiming to convert his P4 starting position into another strong result in Sunday’s race as he looks to continue his impressive run of form during the 2020 season.

“It’s so tight in the midfield – I think from P4 to P10 is like three, four-tenths, so it will be important to keep to position at the start,” he explained.

“I expect a tough battle with Daniel [Ricciardo] with Charles [Leclerc] and all the other guys. But I think we are in a good position; P4 is probably the best position we can start from so we need to keep it and try to get as many points as we can.”

GASLY IS INSPIRED BY SENNA IN IMOLA GASLY IS INSPIRED BY SENNA IN IMOLA

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