"Not ideal, but that's racing" - Pierre Gasly reflects on crash with Guanyu Zhou on opening lap of 2022 F1 Imola GP Sprint

Pierre Gasly has reflected on his clash with Guanyu Zhou on the opening lap of the 2022 F1 Imola GP sprint race.

Gasly started the sprint race in P17 after a dismal qualifying session on Friday. Zhou fared better than the Frenchman, starting in P14 despite never having raced at Imola before in an F1 car.

However, on the opening lap of Saturday's sprint, both drivers collided in dramatic fashion heading into turn 7, resulting in a safety car and a DNF for the Chinese driver.

Pierre Gasly developed a puncture in his AlphaTauri and couldn't improve on his position for the remainder of the race. Reflecting on the inside after the race, Gasly said:

"We were side-by-side in turn 7 and yeah...it's not a great place to be side by side. When he tried to stay there on the outside, if he had left a bit more space we could have both made it through. Unfortunately it didn't happen and we both collided and both ruined our races. Not ideal, but that's racing".

The 26-year-old finished the sprint race in P17 and will start Sunday's main race from the same position.

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Pierre Gasly jokes about Sebastian Vettel's post-retirement career options

Pierre Gasly has hilariously claimed that Sebastian Vettel would make a "painful journalist" if he were to pursue a career in the field.

In a media interaction ahead of the 2022 F1 Imola Grand Prix, the four-time world champion revealed that he does not see a future in journalism after his driving career ends.

Gasly responded sarcastically, saying:

“You would be a painful journalist as well. Yeah, no, don’t do that to us.”

The German driver has made no official remarks about his status post-retirement, leading to speculation from fans.

In Gasly's case, Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has claimed the team wants to keep the Frenchman on board for as long as is possible.

Marko said:

“If his contract expires and we can’t offer him any chance of promotion, we will most likely lose him. We don’t want that.”

Pierre Gasly has been trying to make it back into the mother team since his demotion in 2019. He is currently fighting Sergio Perez off the track for a place alongside Max Verstappen in the Austrian team.

Marko said about Perez's contract:

“At the moment we still have a contract with ‘Checo’ [Perez] and we have to compare the performance of these two drivers. With ‘Checo’ we still have until the middle of the year. The car suits him better, he feels more comfortable. And he knows the team. We are very happy that this development has taken place.”

Only time will tell whether Gasly is able to prove himself to Red Bull's top bosses and make his way back into the main team.