Engine, check. Chassis, check. Top-class F1 driver, check. With Lewis Hamilton behind the wheel, Mercedes have run through the turbo-hybrid era like a tractor in a crop field. If you were to bet on this combination taking the win at a particular race, chances are that you will be taking the prizes home more often than not.

But the 2020 Italian GP was an anomaly. Not that Mercedes’ Hamilton was not on course for a win, but he was stopped by a couple of penalties from the FIA. This brought the other drivers into contention with AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly taking home an unlikely win.

Although Gasly feels that he merited his maiden Grand Prix victory, with Sakhir GP also experiencing similar circumstances last year, he feels that there’s a condition to such rare race wins.

“There were several drivers who could have won that race. Carlos Sainz, Lando Norris, Valtteri Bottas, but none of them did. So I think we definitely deserved that victory,” Gasly told RacingNews365 in an exclusive interview. (Quotes translated from Dutch using Google)

“When Sergio Perez won in Bahrain, Mercedes also had problems. So then you could say that too. You can actually always say it when Hamilton doesn’t win, something has happened to him or Mercedes.”

Even though such incidences belie the true picture of the sport, Gasly said – “But racing incidents are part of the sport. Otherwise Lewis Hamilton would win every race… If there are no racing incidents or no unexpected events, it would be boring. That’s why the fans watch the race.”

What F1 needs to do to prevent a similar Hamilton-like situation, per Gasly

Everyone in the F1 community is waiting patiently for the 2022 regulations to kick in. The expectation is that they will bring the field much closer. And if 2021 is any hint towards that, it is going to be very exciting.

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“If all cars are within half a second of each other, it will make the racing much better. We see it in the midfield, where there are a lot of fights. We now also see it between Mercedes and Red Bull, who are close together,” said Gasly.

People at home love it, as well. It is important to have as many race winners and title contenders as possible.