AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly is focused on getting back to full fitness, after being forced to miss his Thursday media duties at the recent Italian Grand Prix.
Whilst the Frenchman has had a much-welcomed two-week break to recover from his bout of illness, he is still concerned over his fitness levels ahead of the most physically demanding race on the calendar, the Singapore Grand Prix.
Due to the Coronavirus pandemic, next weekend’s race at the Marina Bay Circuit will be F1’s first since 2019, a venue which Gasly has “missed”.
It’s by far the worst race to have to prepare for following an illness, something which Alex Albon is also having to do after having surgery for appendicitis.
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Despite it being a night race, the Singapore GP is the most difficult on the calendar due to the incredible heat and humidity which remains long into the night at the Asian country.
The race also tends to be one of the longest of the season, with it having gone incredibly close to the two-hour time limit on a number of occasions.
Whilst Gasly was ruled out of media duties at the start of the Italian GP, the French driver did return into the cockpit for the entire weekend.
The AlphaTauri driver battled Daniel Ricciardo all race long, until the Aussie retired, to claim a well-deserved P8 finish, despite clearly feeling under the weather.
Gasly has been making the most of his recovery time since Monza, with the 26-year-old aiming to be “back in good shape”.
“I will try to rest, get some sleep and get physically back in good shape for that race,” said Gasly.
“We know it is very extreme conditions.”
The Frenchman, who is heavily rumoured with a move to Alpine for next season despite being contracted to the Faenza-based team, is excited to go back to a circuit he “loves”, where he is hoping to be “fighting again” for the points.
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“It is a track that I love… I love that place,” he added.
“I have missed that place the last few years and I can’t wait to get there.
“I go there with an open mind. We will try our best, prepare ourselves the best way and hopefully, we can be fighting again for the top 10.”