The Brazilian Grand Prix on November 17th was unlike any other race in the 2019 Formula One Season. It saw a drastically different podium, with Max Verstappen taking first place. Pierre Gasly followed in second and Carlos Sainz in third because of Hamilton’s five-second penalty. The success story in this race was Gasly, with his first podium finish in Formula One. After two full seasons in the motorsport, the 23-year-old driver was highly anticipating this moment. He initially drove with Red Bull for the first twelve races, finding it difficult to place on the podium and control the vehicle. However, after the summer break, Pierre returned to Toro Rosso and placed consistently in the top ten.
Pierre wouldn’t have ever accomplished this podium finish if Alex Albon, Sebastian Vettel, Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton didn’t get into accidents throughout the race. Towards the final 500 metres of the Brazilian Grand Prix, the Toro Rosso and Mercedes were neck n’ neck. Gasly captured P2 on the podium with only a car lengths distance between them. Afterwards, the young driver’s excitement was heard through the radio.
Gasly mentioned to F1 Reporters that November 17th was the best day of life, a moment where he accomplished his childhood dreams of being on a Formula One podium. Pierre clarified that he didn’t think a podium finish would happen with Toro Rosso this season. However, it appears that working with his engineers allowed Gasly to get the best opportunities out of his vehicle. This is the second podium finish for Toro Rosso, who placed P3 at the German Grand Prix with Daniil Kvyat.
This has allowed for the Italian Racing team to reach a higher position in the constructor’s championship. The combination of Pierre’s P3 and Daniil’s P10 enables Toro Rosso to surpass Racing Point for sixth in the constructor’s championship. They will overtake Renault if another eight points are captured at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
The Mercedes Drop
Pierre Gasly wouldn’t have accomplished his podium finish if it wasn’t for the terrible decisions made by Mercedes. Toto Wolff, the Team Manager for Mercedes-AMG, wasn’t at the Brazilian Grand Prix. This left the technical director to govern Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas. Hamilton took his pit stops in the wrong moments, and Bottas had his engine expire towards the end of the race. This promoted Pierre to P4, which was short-lived until Hamilton smashed into Alex Albon. Subsequently, Pierre Gasly made it to P3.