"Still quite mad about it" - Pierre Gasly 'spent 40 minutes' with F1 race directors after track limits penalty at 2022 Hungarian GP

Pierre Gasly was knocked out of Q1 in the qualifying session for the 2022 Hungarian GP after his lap time was deleted for exceeding track limits. The driver claimed he spent around 40 minutes conversing with the race directors to try and understand where he was at fault.

Gasly managed to finish the main race in 12th place, having missed out on a points finish due to being knocked out in Q1 the previous day. The Frenchman allegedly ran wide at Turn 5, resulting in the deleted lap time. However, the driver claimed his violation of track limits was incorrect, citing Haas' Mick Schumacher and Red Bull's Sergio Perez as other examples.

Pierre Gasly told RacingNews365.com after the race:

"[I'm] still quite mad about it. From what I've seen, it's very arguable whether I was on track or off track. Similar things happened to Yuki and Checo [Perez], and from the onboards, they were clearly on the track."

The AlphaTauri driver highlighted details of his conversation with the two race directors, claiming that he was trying to understand the reasoning behind their decisions. Pierre Gasly said:

"I spent 40 minutes with them trying to discuss and find a way that everybody is happy. At the moment, they have a huge amount of work. They're not making their life very easy. Clearly, in Turn 5 they didn't have the right tools to police it in the most fair way possible."

Pierre Gasly recalled a 'one and a half hour' call with Sebastian Vettel in 2016

Pierre Gasly recalled a long phone call he had with Sebastian Vettel in 2016 when the four-time world champion advised him on his situation with Red Bull. The AlphaTauri driver revealed that the German, who was with Ferrari back then, took the time to advise him about his career.

After winning the 2016 GP2 championship, the driver claimed he was disappointed by not getting promoted to F1. However, he highlighted that a call with Vettel helped him plan out his next career move.

Pierre Gasly told the media ahead of the 2022 Hungarian GP:

“I had the chance, when I entered into the Red Bull programme, to get closer to him for his last season in Red Bull - see how much effort [he made], see his work ethic inside the team, his dedication for the sport. I always remember when I won my GP2 title and I didn’t get promoted to Formula 1 straight away. I was in Singapore when this happened."

He continued:

"I remember calling him one night and I just wanted like five minutes to get his opinion about it and get his view and try to get some advice on how to deal with the Red Bull situation. It turned out to be a one-and-a-half hour call.”