Pierre Gasly was “screaming” in agony during the latter stages of the 2022 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix due to pain on the left side of his abdomen, and is relieved to have made it to the end of the grand prix in eighth.
The Frenchman spent much of the race battling with the McLaren pair of Daniel Ricciardo and Lando Norris in a thrilling midfield fight that also included an enthralling battle with the Alpine pairing of Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon.
Many of the drivers were seen sweating profusely after the chequered flag due to the brutal physicality of the race in Jeddah, and Gasly was being tormented by pain in his intestine.
“I must say I am really happy,” he 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.
“I feel like every left turn someone was stabbing me on the inside, on my intestine, so it was not nice.”
He was asked by Sky Sports’ Natalie Pinkham whether he had been able to see a doctor about his discomfort, and he confirmed that he had.
“I’ve seen him already, we’ll see after. I don’t know what it is. We’ll see what’s happened,” he explained.
AlphaTauri have made a slightly rocky start to the season, failing to get both cars to the finish line in both of the first two races.
The Frenchman suffered a fiery exit from the opening round of the season in Bahrain, before team-mate Yuki Tsunoda was unable to participate in either qualifying or the race in Jeddah due to problems with the car that Red Bull boss Christian Horner suggested might have been due to a loss of oil pressure.
Gasly, however, is optimistic that the Italian team can get to the bottom of the problems that have been prickling them in the early part of the year.
“I must say, reliability wise [it has been] very difficult since the first weekend,” he added.
“Testing went so well, we were confident. We lost some points in Bahrain on my side and now today Yuki didn’t qualify, and he didn’t even take the start.
“So as a team obviously quite painful to see that. But I’m confident within the team to find the solutions.
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“We’ve been very reliable last year and the past few years but clearly, it’s been quite tough these first few weekends.”
Gasly and Tsunoda now both sit on four points after their respective eighth-placed finishes, leaving AlphaTauri seventh in the Constructors’ Standings.