Gasly left “screaming in pain” from intestine during Jeddah F1 race
The AlphaTauri driver, who finished eighth in Jeddah, described the closing stages of Sunday night’s grand prix as “the most painful last 15 laps of my career” after suffering from severe intestine pain.
Gasly was unfortunate to fall outside the top 10 after making his pit stop just before the Safety Car was deployed, but the Frenchman battled his way back through the order - and the pain - to claim four points in eighth.
“I must say I am really happy,” Gasly said.
“It was very unlucky timing with the pitstop, when we boxed, as soon as I came out of the pits, I saw the safety car came out, so I dropped to 14th.
“We managed to make our way back to P8, so yeah, I think we can be happy and on my side, it’s been the most painful last 15 laps of my career.
“I don’t know what’s happened with my intestine, but I was dying inside the car. I was screaming because of pain and just happy the race is done, and we managed to secure P8.”
Asked how hard it was to focus, Gasly replied: “The last five laps, it was just about surviving.
“I was just massively in pain so I was just counting the laps to end and that’s why I’m happy we managed to finish the race in P8.”
After the race finished, Gasly reported to his team over the radio “it’s been the worst last five laps of in my life. I don’t know what’s happened but so much pain.”
Speaking in a later interview with Sky, Gasly confirmed he had already seen a doctor but was still unsure what was the cause of his discomfort.
“I’ve seen him already, we’ll see after,” he explained. “I don’t know what it is. We’ll see what’s happened.”
Is Pierre Gasly ready for another shot with Red Bull?
In an exclusive interview with Crash.net, Gasly explains why he feels ready for another shot with Red Bull. But where does his F1 future lie?
It is not an exaggeration to suggest that Gasly is heading into what could turn out to be the most important year of his Formula 1 career to date.
The Frenchman, 26, finds himself at something of a career crossroads with his contract due to expire at the end of the 2022 F1 season. Gasly remains determined to achieve his goal of securing a return to Red Bull, but there are no guarantees such a move will come off even if his superb form continues.
Ever since being demoted back to Red Bull’s sister team AlphaTauri following a difficult half-season alongside Max Verstappen in 2019, Gasly has been on a road to redemption to rebuild his reputation.
“Some guys went to top teams without any race wins and without podiums and they delivered for the top teams,” Gasly told Crash.net as part of an exclusive interview.
“Examples like Charles Leclerc, like George Russell - well George finished on the podium even if we didn’t race - so maybe not George… But I’m a very different driver than I was three years ago.
"I think everybody grew from that situation and yeah, I feel ready. Whether it’s going to happen if I do a good year or not, it’s not up to me to decide.
“At the end of the day, the best thing I can do for myself is to perform and then we will see what will come out from it.”
The biggest problem is that the decision is ultimately out of Gasly’s hands. Even if he continues to flourish at AlphaTauri and comfortably beats teammate Yuki Tsunoda again this year, there is a chance Red Bull will opt to stick with the Verstappen-Perez partnership that has so far worked well.
Gasly was understandably coy about the situation when asked by Crash.net. For the time being, he insists he is not concerned about timeframes and remains solely focused on maximising his performances in the hope his results will speak for themselves and persuade Red Bull to give him a second chance.
Lewis regularly attends Grands Prix for Crash.net around the world. Often reporting on the action from the ground, Lewis tells the stories of the people who matter in the sport.
