Drag race with Lewis Hamilton was 'an amazing way' to secure first podium, claims Pierre Gasly

Pierre Gasly recalled when he took his first podium in the sport, beating Lewis Hamilton to the line to take second place at the 2019 F1 Brazilian GP. The Frenchman was heard screaming in joy over his radio, winning the hearts of the entire F1 world.

Pierre Gasly's performance at Interlagos made him one to look out for in the sport, giving him a morale boost after being dropped by Toro Rosso's mother team Red Bull. The Frenchman started in P7 but made good use of both safety cars that were summoned to finish the race in P2, beating out Lewis Hamilton in a drag race toward the line. Hamilton had earlier made contact with current Williams driver Alex Albon in the closing stages of the race, losing P2 to Gasly, who managed to defend with all his might against the seven-time world champion.

Gasly reminisced on his first-ever podium in the sport in a press conference ahead of the 2022 F1 Brazilian GP, saying:

"I mean, it does feel like quite a while ago, already. But obviously, every year, every single time I come back to Brazil, I can straightaway relate to the emotions that I felt on that day. And yeah, it was an amazing way to get my first podium with the drag race to the line with Lewis. Even doing the track walk every single year, it just comes back. And every time we were walking up that last hill to the line, we're just discussing this with the guys and yeah, it was an incredible moment. It's always great energy to come here. I must say I enjoy the track. The atmosphere is always fantastic."

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Pierre Gasly claims his penalty points situation is 'unpleasant'

Pierre Gasly admits that the 10 penalty points accrued by him so far, which leaves him 2 points away from a race ban, is a very unpleasant situation. The French driver is not generally associated with dangerous driving, but the regularly accrued penalty points for minor incidents in the last year have put him in a sticky situation.

Gasly spoke about the unpleasant situation ahead of the 2022 F1 Brazilian GP, saying:

“I’m not going to lie, it’s a very unpleasant situation and quite delicate, and in some ways also a bit embarrassing to be standing in a position where I could be banned for a race after the season that I’ve done. I don’t really feel like I’ve been particularly dangerous over these last 12 months and that would be definitely a harsh penalty."

The driver claims he is in talks with the FIA to potentially come to some kind of a conclusion on the matter. Pierre Gasly fears losing out on a race in 2023 for his new team Alpine F1, losing points for the French team for no fault of theirs.

The Frenchman has to be on his best behavior for the rest of the season and try his best not to get involved in incidents on track.