Gasly sees no improvement in driving since leaving Red Bull

Pierre Gasly does not believe he is driving any better with Toro Rosso than he did with Red Bull through the opening 12 races of the Formula 1 season.

Gasly was dropped from Red Bull following the Hungarian Grand Prix in August after struggling to match teammate Max Verstappen’s level of performance, being lapped by the Dutchman on multiple occasions.

Gasly returned to Toro Rosso for the Belgian Grand Prix onwards as Alexander Albon moved in the opposite direction, and appeared to regain his confidence, scoring points in four of his six races back with the team.

But the Frenchman does not believe he has been driving any better with Toro Rosso than he was during his time at Red Bull.

“Not really, I didn’t learn or forget how to drive in a couple of months. It’s just a matter of putting everything together,” Gasly said in Thursday’s FIA press conference ahead of the United States Grand Prix.

“I’m just focusing on the job to do with Toro Rosso. I think we are doing pretty well. There are always things we need to focus on and improve and that’s what we need to focus one.”

Toro Rosso’s recent form has put it in the fight for fifth place in the constructors’ championship, trailing Renault by nine points with three races to go.

Gasly spoke about the momentum that has been building at Toro Rosso, praising the way in which the team has been working in recent weeks.

“The car is more or less the same as it was in the last couple of races, since I rejoined. But I think it’s just trying to extract the maximum from what we have and trying to find the setup directions that suit tracks and what I need from the car,” Gasly said.

“I must say I’m really happy with the way we’re working with the team. They are providing me with everything I need so we can extract everything from the car.

“So far we are doing well. We can always do better and we’ll try to keep that form in the next three races.”