Gasly confirms Toro Rosso chance for Malaysia
Pierre Gasly has confirmed that he is in the frame to make his Formula 1 debut for Toro Rosso at the Malaysian Grand Prix, if Carlos Sainz makes an early switch to Renault.
The Frenchman has emerged as the favourite to take the second Toro Rosso seat, if a deal can be finalised for Sainz to replace Jolyon Palmer for the final races of the season.
As revealed by Motorsport.com at the weekend, Sainz will be loaned out to Renault by Red Bull for 2018, and efforts are being made for an early transition that could potentially come at early as the Sepang race on October 1.
Although no final decision has been taken on when Sainz will move across, Gasly thinks the situation will be sorted in the next few days before teams arrive in Singapore.
"Yeah, I know there are few things going on at the moment," said Gasly, who took his second Super Formula victory of the season in Japan at the weekend.
"We will see in the next couple of days what will happen. For me, it will be amazing. It's been my dream and I've been working really hard to get there.
"I'm still pushing every day to make it happen. So for me it will be unbelievable.
"This weekend I wanted to focus on my weekend and do the best I could. Now, we have a few days until the next race, and Malaysia will arrive quickly. Let's see how it goes. Hopefully I can be there."
Gasly's next race in Super Formula takes place in Sugo on the weekend before Malaysia. The final double-header then takes place at Suzuka on October 22 – the same weekend as the United States Grand Prix.
Following his second consecutive victory at Autopolis at the weekend, Gasly is now second overall in the championship standings – and says he is enjoying his Japanese experience.
"It feels amazing. Second win in a row and it's the fifth weekend of the season. It's just amazing," he said.
"I've really worked hard with the team to get better and all the hard work starts to pay off so I'm really happy and just starting to love more and more Super Formula.
"You know it's amazing when you have the performance and when you can fight for top positions. Of course you enjoy racing even more. It's been a great weekend.
"I think there are still things that we can improve but to be in this position second time and second win in a row it's a great feeling."
Additional reporting by Ken Tanaka
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