"Stay away from Carlos!": Pierre Gasly admits traffic is going to be a concern in the 2023 F1 Austrian GP as well

Pierre Gasly spoke about how the traffic in the upcoming 2023 F1 Austrian GP will be hard to navigate through. The French driver encountered some issues during the Canadian GP due to other cars that were ahead of him during the qualifying session, especially Ferrari's Carlos Sainz. He thinks that might be the case in Austria as well.

Speaking at the driver's press conference before the Austrian GP, he initially joked about how he needed to stay away from Carlos Sainz, referring to the incident in Canada. Later, he explained how that incident affected his entire race weekend and how some tracks are always difficult in terms of traffic on the track. He said:

"Stay away from Carlos! Nah, it's always tricky. Obviously, in Canada, it really impeded and had a pretty big impact on our whole race weekend. I think as a driver, you always try to do your best. There are some tracks which are very easy to control the traffic, some others which are way more difficult."

Pierre Gasly elucidated how the Red Bull Ring is a small track, which means it could also have a traffic problem where cars could block each other unintentionally. He stated how the drivers and teams at the pitwall need to keep informing each other about the drivers around them to avoid any unnecessary incidents. He concluded:

"Montreal is one of these tracks which is tricky. Austria is going to be bad, and I think in this specific track, everyone, as a team, from drivers to engineers to everyone that can help and support us inside the car to do a better job, will have to be on their top game. Because it’s a short track, four kilometres, everybody's trying to get gaps.

"But yeah, then you don't want to impede anyone. So yeah, it’s going to be tricky but hopefully everyone's going to manage it in the best way they can."

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Alpine sporting director on Pierre Gasly's faulty steering wheel in Canada

Alpine sporting director Alan Permane recently spoke about Pierre Gasly's steering wheel and how it failed during the first practice session of the Canadian GP. He explained that the French team buys the steering wheel separately and how it has been faultless for several years. He said:

“We have to take responsibility for it, honestly. The steering wheel problem we had with Pierre's car is a complete freak. I was talking to the electronic guys. It's a part we buy and I think it's probably on every single steering wheel up and down the pit lane. The design hasn't changed since 2008, and it's been bulletproof."

During the practice session in Canada, the power supply of the steering wheel failed, which forced Pierre Gasly to retire and raise a red flag.