Pierre Gasly says he was unaffected by the prospect of being banned from a Formula 1 race after ultimately losing his superlicence penalty points.
After racking up points on his license sporadically for various minor infringements over the last twelve months, the Alpine driver spent the first few races of the season with ten points on his F1 superlicence.
For a long time, the Grand Prix winner sat uncomfortably close to the 12-point mark, which would mean a one-race suspension.
Concerns that Gasly could be banned from racing were heightened at the Australian Grand Prix when he collided with team-mate Esteban Ocon. ended with a visit to the stewards.
However, no penalty points were awarded, and the Frenchman carefully drove the Azerbaijan and Miami Grands Prix without any penalties.
Last weekend’s Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix was also cancelled he inadvertently helped Gaslywho had one less chance to take a penalty before two of his ten points expired on 22 May.
Gasly now heads into the Monaco GP with eight penalty points, and while he believes his involvement in racing has not been affected, he has expressed relief at the increased breathing space.
“Personally, I don’t think it has had any effect on my performance or approach to racing,” Gasly told the media, including Racing News365.com.
“Of course, it wasn’t an ideal situation. You always have it in the back of your mind, but I know I’m a respectable driver.
“I always fight at the limit, but it’s not like I’m going over the limit on purpose, so I wasn’t really worried about that.
“But it’s great to know that I have these two extra points (my license taken away) after last weekend and I won’t have to think about it as much.”
Gasly will have to wait until July 10 for three more points to be taken off his license. During this time, the Frenchman will compete in the Grand Prix of Monaco, Spain, Canada, Austria and Great Britain.
