Gasly: 2018 Toro Rosso F1 car 'more consistent'

Pierre Gasly took plenty of positives from his first run-out in the new Toro Rosso Formula 1 car on Tuesday, finding the STR13 to be "more consistent" than last year's model.

Gasly enjoyed his maiden extended run in the new Toro Rosso car following teammate Brendon Hartley's outing on Monday, and finished the day sixth overall, completing 82 laps.

Despite cold conditions limiting the amount of meaningful running that could be completed, Gasly said he already noticed a step in performance over last year's car that he drove for the final five races of the season.

"Of course I didn't do many laps, but the first feeling is positive," Gasly said. "I feel comfortable with it. It gives me a bit more confidence than last year.

"The car is a bit more consistent from one corner to another, between the low-speed, medium-speed and high-speed. So far I must say I'm happy.

"Of course we still have a lot of work to do, but I think we have some good directions overall."

Asked if the Honda engine offered more horsepower than last year's Renault power unit, Gasly said: "At the moment, I think it's pretty good. But we run really safe mode, so we didn't do any qualy run or any pushing laps. It's more about making many laps.

"At the moment the engine is really reliable, which is what we need to have a good understanding of the car. So far, so good."

Gasly made his debut for Toro Rosso at last year's Malaysian Grand Prix following Daniil Kvyat's demotion, giving him no prior F1 testing programme prior to the race weekend.

The Frenchman is glad to have a proper testing schedule in place ahead of the new season, and said he will be better-prepared come the season-opening race in Austraia.

"The approach is different. I was straightaway sent to a race weekend, so you need to deliver and just focus on the performance and the results," Gasly said.

"I didn't have time to get used to the car. I had to just focus on the performance.

"Now it's a different approach. I have four days of testing which is nice because I can try different setups, different directions. I can really work on the car setup to see what suits my driving better.

"Overall I think it's a different approach. I think I will feel much more prepared in Melbourne than I was in Malaysia which is nice."