AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly says he found Lewis Hamilton’s words of support “very touching” in the wake of his maiden Formula 1 victory at the Italian Grand Prix.
Gasly surged into the lead amid the mid-race drama and held off McLaren’s Carlos Sainz Jr. to take a shock first win in Formula 1.
Hamilton heaped praise on Gasly after the race, referring to the setbacks he has encountered, including his demotion from Red Bull during the 2019 summer break.
“For me Lewis is a very special guy, someone I really looked at when I was a kid and in my eyes is probably the best driver we ever had in F1, or at least part of the two or three top guys if not the best guy,” Gasly told the ESPN F1 podcast.
“So when I heard the words he said it’s obviously very touching and unbelievable, because for me it feels strange because these guys I looked at since I’m 10 years old and was always a great example to follow and now I’m racing with him and he’s talking this way about me.
“I got to know him a bit more in the last two years, we actually texted the day before on Saturday, before the race, and all over the weekend, as I wanted to ask him some advice on other things.
“He’s been always very nice to me, very open, always trying to help.
“When you get such strong words from a six-time World Champion, who will become a seven-time World Champion in a couple of months, it’s pretty special.”
Gasly also revealed he was inundated by messages of congratulations from the sporting world and even received a call from French President Emmanuel Macron.
“It made me realise something big happened,” he said. “It’s not every day you get a call from your President. That was super nice, just to tell me he was really happy and really proud of me and what I achieved
“I was impressed and very happy how much support messages I got from all other athletes in the world of sports. I obviously follow soccer a bit more. I know a couple of the guys, Neymar, Griezmann, Mbappe, Fabio, Giroud, so many players actually follow F1 and congratulated me.”
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