Pierre Gasly won the Italian Grand Prix in 2020 and stayed back after the celebrations to soak in all the emotion. The Alpha Tauri driver opened up on how much that win in Italy meant to him.

Gasly knew that he would do something special on that day in Monza, and indeed he won the race. The Frenchman defended his first place position till the end against McLaren’s Carlos Sainz. When he crossed the finish line, he couldn’t believe what he had done.

Following the French national anthem being played on the podium and the celebrations, Gasly stayed there as he didn’t feel like leaving the podium. He wanted to soak in all the joy of his first win, as it only happens once in your life.

Pierre Gasly felt like he was glued to the podium after his first win

In an interview with The Player’s Tribune, the 25-year-old said, “To stand on the top step, I mean that’s what it’s all about right. When I heard the French anthem, I just tried to soak it all in. I told myself that you only get the first win once.”

Gasly added, “And when it ended, I couldn’t leave. I felt like I was tied to the podium. In a way, with no fans there, it felt sort of right. At times the journey to that point had been lonely. Standing up there, on my own.”

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“I thought of all the mechanics, the engineers, all the men and women at Alpha Tauri who work behind the scenes to make a moment like that possible. On the podium in Italy, I didn’t take anything for granted. I celebrated that moment like it was the only one I’ll ever get because that’s how we should all live our lives,” he concluded.

Gasly hopes that the team improves in the upcoming season

The Italian team finished seventh in last year’s constructor’s championship. Alpha Tauri’s highest moment was the Gasly win at their home Grand Prix. However, the Frenchman thinks they have to do a better job in 2021.

In an interview with Sky Italia as quoted by Planet F1, he said, “It’s important to have a better season than last year. Last year we finished P7, this year I’d like to finish fifth. But Ferrari this year I think is going to be very fast. Aston Martin with Seb as well are going to be fast, as well as McLaren with the new Mercedes engine. So we have tough opponents, they are big teams, they have big budgets as well.”

Gasly added, “We know we have the budget cap but they are still big teams with a lot of knowledge, so we need to step up our game but I think the team is really motivated and from what I saw they are doing great work. So I’m looking forward to the fights.”

Gasly will get a rookie teammate for the 2021 season in the form of Yuki Tsunoda. The two are talented drivers and can help the team get ahead in the grid for the upcoming season.

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