Formula 1 star Pierre Gasly has called for an end to the “absolutely disastrous” situation in Ukraine after revealing his girlfriend’s family are “fighting and fleeing” amid the rising violence following the Russian invasion.
Speaking exclusively to RadioTimes.com at an advance screening of Formula 1: Drive to Survive season 4, Gasly was initially asked to comment on Motorsport UK’s ruling to ban Russian drivers from competing in Britain, but his focus remains on an end to the conflict.
The ruling by the governing body would have impacted the involvement of driver Nikita Mazepin, who would not have been allowed to compete at Silverstone in the British Grand Prix. However, Mazepin’s team Haas has since terminated his contract for the 2022 campaign.
Speaking last week, Gasly explained that his only immediate concern is that the “completely unacceptable” war in Ukraine concludes before considering its implications for the sport.
He said: “I feel personally involved in it because my girlfriend is Ukrainian and she’s got family there, family fighting, relatives fighting and fleeing the country.
“I’m getting proper insight from people living there and what’s happening is absolutely disastrous.
“With everything happening at the moment, it feels bad to sit here knowing that in Europe – because it’s not like it’s far from us, it’s literally next door – we’re in 2022 and the way of negotiating at the moment is still by starting a war which is completely unacceptable, killing innocent people which is just completely unacceptable.
“For me, that’s the main thing: to sort out and find a solution to stop this chaos. I guess once this will be settled, we’ll see on the sports side what is the right or wrong thing to do but I really hope that they come to an agreement, whatever it is, to keep everyone safe.”
During a F1 testing media conference in Barcelona last weekend, Gasly commented on the decision to strip Russia of the Grand Prix in 2022, a decision that has now led to the scrapping of all future F1 racing in the country.
He said: “About the Russian Grand Prix, I think it was definitely the right decision to make. I’m actually really pleased this decision was made. To me, it’s completely the right one.”
In his exclusive chat with RadioTimes.com, Gasly added: “My thought at the moment is that I hope by the time the British Grand Prix will happen, this whole dramatic war will be behind us.”
The British Grand Prix is set to be held on the weekend of 1st-3rd July 2022.
Formula 1: Drive to Survive season 4 launches globally on Friday 11th March 2022, exclusively on Netflix.
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