Pierre Gasly opened up on various on topics in the ‘Ask Me Anything’ segment as he dwells into Netflix, 2019/2020, career, circuits, Twitch and more.
The end-of-season Reddit ‘Ask Me Anything’ installment – posted to AlphaTauri’s Youtube channel – began on the note of Gasly’s Italian GP win, and how his parents reacted to the shock triumph. The Frenchman says that they experienced a sense of pride, as their lifelong sacrifices culminated in a victory at the highest level of motorsport.
This question, yielding a serious response, was followed by a more humorous one, inquiring on whether or not other F1 drivers are envious of his engineer’s voice, which the Reddit user declared in their question to be ‘the best’. It was after this that he addressed a question regarding his season, and how he overcame the ‘ghosts’ of the 2019 season to deliver a standout year.
Gasly explains that he was motivated by a reinvigorated team, who helped to will him to better results. He also answered a further question on his diet, and a go-to ‘cheat meal’ that he turns to when taking a break from his strict fitness regime, before explaining in response to another user’s question on his Honda NSX’s, whereupon he said he only has his red-colored variant, not his blue model.
The 24-year-old subsequently shared his thoughts on the overlooked negatives of being an F1 driver, explaining that a lack of comprehension by some of just how difficult Grand Prix driving is one negative aspect. Once more returning to the topic of his Monza race win, Gasly said that it was a memorable occasion, but that an intense season had meant he had little time to consider his success.
Once asked on the positives and negatives of Netflix’s ‘Drive to Survive’, and the show’s impact on the sport, Gasly had a particularly notable response. “I think we do have different opinions on the Netflix documentary,” he began. “I do believe it’s a fantastic series, it does feel weird to watch Netflix and see yourself, but I think it gave F1 a lot of exposure to people who didn’t really follow F1, and [it] actually engaged the people even more with the sport.
“I got very good feedback from people around me on the series, and also from people who didn’t watch F1 before but got into it because of that. I think the exposure for the sport has been great, and I also do feel it shows a more personal side to the drivers than can be seen on TV with the races. Sometimes after a race, depending on how it went, depending on your emotions you may come off a bit different than who you are, and people don’t really see the personal side of the drivers, which I think Netflix managed to bring a bit more [of].
“[It’s] very good to have Netflix around, and how is it to have the cameramen around? I think for some people it’s really annoying, and for others they’re not disturbed too much. I just live with it. For sure you’ve got to watch out for what your saying, but to me I just try to be myself, and after they cut, they keep what they like, but no big deal about it. You just try to stay natural and that’s the main thing,” he said as fans await the Season 3 release.
Discussing 2020 once more, Gasly picked Imola as a one-off track he’d like to see return to the calendar, citing its beauty before moving on to a sillier question on his nickname, “Calamar,” and the story behind Charles Leclerc’s nickname, “Petit Calamardo.” With Calamar translating to ‘squid’ in English, the AlphaTauri driver explained it originated from a childhood joke.
Gasly was left uncertain by a question on what he would do if not for his F1 career, explaining that a lifelong desire to drive professionally in the sport meant he never considered any other paths in life. Afterwards, he explained that ‘armchair experts’ often lack understanding on the complexity of F1, and the political nature of the sport.
After briefly touching on the intricacies of maintaining a sleep schedule when there is a night race, Gasly responded to another simple question regarding whether or not he had ever met Olivier Panis, saying yes to this and explaining that he had the opportunity when participating in junior series racing. Subsequently, he denied having driven a car compliant with 2022 regulations in the simulator.
Gasly then denied that how people act in his presence, both in the paddock and in France, has changed since his victory, before speaking on his off-season plans, which entail seeing his family and friends. He also confirmed that he will be streaming with Charles Leclerc, Lando Norris and the greater ‘Twitch Quartet’ in January. To round out the episode, Gasly agreed that his AT01 in 2020 was the “sexiest” car he’d ever driven, for its outright speed primarily.
Here’s the full video of the AMA:
Here’s our tier system of F1 driver performance
Here’s the drivers’ Top 10 of F1 2020
Here’s F1 stats difference from 2019 to 2020
Here’s Pierre Gasly on AlphaTauri’s growth
Here’s troubles of Red Bull’s second seat
