Gasly on Red Bull Ring plane g-force: "Like a massive slap in face"

[June 28, 2019]  Red Bull Air Race champion Šonka takes Frenchman for scary Spielberg spin.

Formula 1 driver Pierre Gasly is used to experiencing huge g-force in the cockpit of his Aston Martin Red Bull Racing car, however he went even further in an aerobatic plane with a lap above the home of the Austrian GP in Spielberg. Here is all you need to know:

- The Frenchman, who currently lies sixth in the 2019 F1 drivers' standings, was given a breathtaking ride in an aerobatic plane by reigning Red Bull Air Race champion Martin Šonka above the Red Bull Ring which will stage the 2019 Austrian GP on June 30.

- Gasly sat up front in the passenger seat to get a unique view of his team's home track with a top speed of 400km/h through the air and propelled by a six cylinder 8.9l air cooled engine.

- Czech pilot Šonka flew up, down and around before thrilling donuts of the vertical kind led into a fascinating lap of the circuit that awaits Gasly this weekend.

- The 23-year-old Gasly enthused: "I was in this lovely plane with Martin, my first experience of this kind of aircraft and it was just unbelievable! We've flown over the track, done some aerobatics, and I had no idea what was happening most of the time."

- In terms of how it differed from his F1 experience, he added: "I was a bit anxious because I don't like the loss of control. The amount of Gs we pulled going around the corners of the track was unbelievable – in Turn One we hit 6G and it's like a massive slap in the face! The maximum G I've experienced in an F1 car is 5.4 under heavy braking and we went to something like 6.7 or 6.8. How fast and sharp you are able to turn was awesome."

Pierre Gasly is used to experiencing huge g-force in the cockpit of his Aston Martin Red Bull Racing car, however he went even further in an aerobatic plane with a lap above the home of the Austrian GP in Spielberg. The Frenchman, who currently lies sixth in the 2019 F1 drivers' standings, was given a breathtaking ride in an aerobatic plane by reigning Red Bull Air Race champion Martin Sonka above the Red Bull Ring which will stage the 2019 Austrian GP on June 30. Gasly sat up front in the passenger seat to get a unique view with a top speed of 400km/h through the air. // Aston Martin Red Bull Racing driver Pierre Gasly (France) and Air Race World Champion Martin Sonka (Czech Republic) seen during a flight experience in an Extra 300L double seater aerobatic plane prior to the 2019 Austria Grand Prix in Spielberg, Styria, Austria on June 25, 2019. // Joerg Mitter / Red Bull Content Pool

- Forty-one-year-old Šonka, a former Czech Air Force jet pilot, revealed: "Pierre's accustomed to g-forces, but you really have to take it to the next level. I think it was tough for him – because the Gs were coming from a different direction to what he's used to – but he was an amazing passenger. It's not an easy thing to enjoy this the first time you try it – but I think Pierre did."

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