Gasly said the toughest part of the race from his perspective was the initial start, which he executed perfectly to put himself in position for the end of the race.
“The start of the race was mega. I managed to overtake Ricciardo in turn one, which was great, but after that it got a bit tricky when Magnussen overtook me in turn one. I knew I had to overtake him straight back, because if I didn’t I was going to lose time and it would be difficult to catch him afterwards. Once I passed Kevin, I managed to keep him behind me and still push flat out, even while I was trying to manage the tires.
“I feel like we did pretty well with everything we had. I think our pace was great. I’m just super happy.”
Toro Rosso team principal Franz Tost had nothing but praise for Gasly and the team following the race.
“Fourth place is a fantastic result for Honda and for Toro Rosso,” said Tost. “We arrived in Bahrain with a new aero package, while Honda came with some modifications as well. From the beginning onwards on Pierre’s car – where we first fitted the upgrades – we saw that we improved the performance in comparison to Melbourne.
“The start of the race was superb. Pierre defended his position and came back from the first lap in fourth, fought against Magnussen in a very good way and kept his position until the end of the race. He controlled the race as if he had driven 100 races in Formula One. It was extraordinary. He did a fantastic job today and I hope that this is only the start.”
Tost noted that after Gasly’s impressive run, he believes that the team is capable of continuing such momentum further into the season and scoring additional – and consistent – points finishes.
“I’m quite confident that we have what we need to keep this level of performance,” said Tost. “Maybe we won’t finish fourth all the time, because we mustn’t forget that (Max) Verstappen and (Daniel) Ricciardo didn’t finish the race, but nevertheless I’m convinced that points are possible in all of the races.
“I want to thank the research and development department of Honda in Sakura, as they’ve done a fantastic job during the winter months significantly improving the performance, as well as the reliability, of the motors. The result of that is that we are now fighting for front positions, which is very positive.”
For Honda, Sunday’s race was a watershed moment. Gasly’s fourth-place finish eclipsed three fifth-place results by Fernando Alonso in 2015 and 2016 as Honda’s best in recent years of Formula One racing, as well as put the sting of an engine failure for Gasly at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix behind.
Though teammate Brendon Hartley was relegated to 17th after a 10-second time penalty for contact with Sergio Perez in turn four on the initial start, the overall rewards of the weekend for Toro Rosso and for Honda were clear.
“It was a very exciting race and it is satisfying to have seen both our cars perform well and take the checkered flag,” said Honda F1 Technical Director Toyoharu Tanabe. “Special congratulations must go to Pierre, who drove brilliantly all weekend to finish fourth and give Honda its highest finish since we returned to Formula One in 2015.
“In the two weeks since our difficulties at the Australian Grand Prix, everyone in the team, at the track and back in the UK and Japan has worked very hard to improve and this result is a well-deserved reward for all our efforts. We feel we have made some progress in improving our reliability, and it is also clear that the aero updates we introduced here worked well. We can enjoy this moment for a few hours, but soon it will be time to focus on the next round in Shanghai.”
Gasly’s youthful enthusiasm may have summed up the weekend best, however.
“I think nothing can beat the feeling that we had with this fourth place,” he smiled. “This is amazing.”
