Pierre Gasly has cautioned that it will be “very, very difficult” for Toro Rosso to score points at its home event in Italy this weekend, despite its encouraging run in Belgium.
The Honda-powered Toro Rosso squad was braced for a challenging time at Spa-Francorchamps but Gasly raced to ninth spot, having qualified just outside of the top 10.
A buoyant Gasly hailed Honda’s progress since the start of the year while rival Marcus Ericsson admitted his surprise at the STR13’s speed, having battled both Toro Rosso drivers in the race.
Gasly, though, has warned that the high-speed nature of the Monza circuit means the team is poised for a tricky display on home ground.
“Honestly Monza will be very, very, very difficult to score points,” he said.
“We don’t expect a great performance there. We still need to find more performance in a straight line but nevertheless, we never know what can happen.
“Turn 1 [in Belgium], many cars crashed, and if we have the opportunity we will take it as usual.
“I don’t want to be a pessimist but on paper, it doesn’t look like the track in our favour but we’ll give it everything we have and see where we are.”
Toro Rosso moved up to seventh in the Constructors’ Championship in Belgium courtesy of Force India’s exclusion and re-entry into the sport.
However, Force India has already scooped up 18 points to hold ninth overall, with Sauber and Toro Rosso – which has amassed 32 points – within its sights.
“Looking at how many points they scored I think it will be tough,” Gasly said on the prospect of staying ahead of Force India.
“If they do the same in Monza they’re going to overtake us already after two races. Clearly, it will be important for the team to keep them behind.
“I think once we pass Monza the coming tracks after that will suit our car a bit better so probably we will be able to fight with them a bit more, but it will be important to try and keep them behind.
“In Monza, they’re going to score points obviously if everything goes well, so after that will be important to keep them behind on the coming tracks.”
