Has Pierre Gasly's strong performance now been hampered by an engine issue?
Pierre Gasly and AlphaTauri looked very strong on Friday at Monza. In both the first and second free practice sessions, both drivers easily entered the top ten and in FP2 Gasly was even fourth, setting a faster time than Max Verstappen.
Still, the day ended with on a downer for Gasly and the team. During the long runs in the second half of FP2, the Frenchman seemed to brake for turn 1 but shoot straight ahead. A moment later, however, it became clear from his commentary on the onboard radio that there was more to the problem.
Gasly bouncing to the pits
Gasly spoke of problems at the back of the car, where he felt that it was bouncing up and down. He managed to reach the pits at a snail's pace, but we didn't see him back on the track for the last fifteen minutes.
Not much later, the analysts at Sky Sports reported that it was likely to be a problem with Gasly's Honda power source. More details were not yet available, but it could mean a big line through Gasly and AlphaTauri's account.