Formula For Success

Find Out How Emerging Speed Ace Pierre Gasly Stays Preternaturally Cool In The Hot Zone Of F1 Racing

- Andrew Chesterton

IT’S IMPOSSIBLE TO KNOW exactly what effect the suffocating, carbon-to-diamond-crushing pressure of Formula One will have on you until you experience it for yourself.

You might have seen Aussie F1 ace Daniel Ricciardo stomping around pre-race, headphones glued to his ears pumping a thrashy metalcore song from favourite band Killswitch Engage, his trademark ear-to-ear grin suddenly wiped from his face as he gets into the zone.

Or you might have seen Dutch flyer Max Verstappen in race-prep mode, head down and deep in conversation with his lead engineer, taking a final microscope to his car’s strengths and weaknesses and nailing down any last minute strategy changes.

But you probably won’t have seen rising star Pierre Gasly do much of anything before a race. In fact, it’d be more than a little bit creepy if you had seen him.

Not because the French wheelman doesn’t have his own pre-race ritual. It’s more that it’s not what you might expect from someone about to strap himself to a 750kW-plus missile masquerading as a race car.

“How do I relax? It will sound a bit weird, but an hour before the race I go for a nap. I’ll probably sleep for around 20 minutes,” says Gasly. “I’m quite a calm guy, so I don’t know if everyone else manages to fall asleep an hour before the race. But I find it’s the best way just to switch off.

“Usually I drink an espresso just before my nap, and I wake up 20 minutes later and I’m full of energy. That’s how I get into the zone.”