Gasly: Emotional article removed 'a weight from my shoulders'

Pierre Gasly has explained he felt a weight was lifted from his shoulders after sharing a deeply personal recollection of his difficult and tragic 2019 experiences in writing.

The AlphaTauri driver endured a turbulent 2019 season, starting the year at Red Bull before losing his seat after just 12 races, the Frenchman swapping places with then-Toro Rosso driver Alex Albon.

At the Belgian Grand Prix, the first race after the switch was made, Gasly also suffered the loss of his childhood friend, F2 driver Anthoine Hubert.

In an article penned for The Players Tribune, Gasly revealed he had not felt supported at Red Bull and believed the relationship "was never going to work."

Asked how difficult it had been to recount his early experiences of that year, he conceded: "Sometimes things are easier to write than to say. I believe there are certain things I wanted to share and it kind of feels good.

"It was a weight off of my shoulders and it was obviously not easy talking about these things, I will not say it was a pleasant moment of my life but that is what I really believe."

From the extreme low of the Belgian Grand Prix weekend, Gasly quickly turned around his fortunes, scoring his first F1 podium in Brazil and then, last year, his first grand prix victory in Italy.

"You always have challenging moments in life, whatever you do. It is not only myself, I think everybody can relate to that in whatever they do," he explained.

"It is important to face them and I think that is also what shapes you as a person, as a driver, a human, whatever.

"I think this period of my life, really shaped me into who I am today and even if it was tough, I always had a clear idea of what I wanted and what I want to achieve in the sport and it has probably helped me in the end.

"That is the good thing out of it and I feel better now. That is the way I wanted to express myself. I have shared what I wanted to share."

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