Pierre Gasly is working with the FIA in attempt to avoid missing a race if he earns any more penalty points, and said he wants to avoid any problems if he’s fighting for the title in 2023.
Gasly has ten penalty points going into the Brazilian Grand Prix, drivers will be given a race ban if they hit 12 and Gasly could make up that gap with just one incident.
If that happens at Interlagos he’ll miss the final race of his AlphaTauri career but it could have bigger repercussions, he moves to Alpine for 2023 but would still have to survive until May without picking up any more points.
“It’s a very unpleasant situation and also a bit embarrassing to be in a position where I will be banned for a race,” Gasly told the press. “So it’s a very tricky situation.
“Now I’ve been discussing quite a lot with the FIA to try to find solutions because the way the regulation is written at the moment it’s quite strict on the drivers and quite harsh penalties, even though it’s not always then related to dangerous driving.”
A 2023 title challenge?
Gasly added he has high hopes for 2023, as he moves outside the Red Bull umbrella for the first time.
He said he’s hoping to challenge for the world championship, as he replaces two-time champion Fernando Alonso at Alpine.
The Enstone team have been perpetually hoping for a big step forward up to the front of the grid and Alonso, Daniel Ricciardo and Nico Hulkenberg have all been sold that dream but failed to consistently finish in the top spots.
But if this is the year Alpine finally come good on their promise, Gasly would have to wait until the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix to breath a little easier, as two of his points will be wiped off.
“I want to do all the races and finish the season in the best way I can with AlphaTauri,” Gasly added.
“And I want to do all the races in 2023 and get the maximum chances to perform for Alpine and obviously there’s a lot at stake because no one knows what’s gonna happen in 2023.
“I could end up with an amazing car fighting for the championship for example and can’t take the risk to be banned for race and lose all my hopes for the championship.”
Gasly obviously feels like his misdemeanours individually shouldn’t add up to a race ban, but with the regulations printed in black-and-white, it’s hard to see what can change to save him from missing a race if he can’t keep it clean.
But he sounded optimistic of finding a solution, and promised to keep up a dialogue with the FIA throughout the remainder of the season.
“We’re gonna have again more conversations today,” Gasly added, “but I do hope we can find solution out of the weekend to avoid to end up in a silly situation where I’ll be banned for a race.
“That will be terrible for myself and definitely not the way that I’ve seen the sport growing up and I don’t think that’s the correct approach.
“Because obviously I can’t really go into next year with only two points and that risk over my head. But at the same time there is no clear solution. So hopefully, they can be like yeah, good going forward for 2023.”
