Reuters
Formula One F1 – Azerbaijan Grand Prix – Baku City Circuit, Baku, Azerbaijan – June 6, 2021 AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly celebrates with team members after finishing in third place Pool via REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov
Reuters
Formula One F1 – Azerbaijan Grand Prix – Baku City Circuit, Baku, Azerbaijan – June 6, 2021 AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly celebrates with team members after finishing in third place Pool via REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov
Pierre Gasly has had a rather bitter-sweet Formula One stint so far, having started off well at Toro Rosso only to squander his chance alongside Max Verstappen at Red Bull. The Frenchman struggled to excel at the Milton Keynes outfit, as he failed to secure even a single podium during his brief half-year stint.
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What’s more, he also found himself being lapped by his own teammate frequently which did not go down well with the Red Bull management. Hence, the young Frenchman lad faced demotion to AlphaTauri during the summer break that year, replacing him with another youngster in Alex Albon.
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MONZA, ITALY – SEPTEMBER 06: Race winner Pierre Gasly of France and Scuderia AlphaTauri celebrates in parc ferme during the F1 Grand Prix of Italy at Autodromo di Monza in Monza, Italy. (Photo by Dan Istitene – Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images)
However, the Thai-Briton, similar to Gasly, had a hard time keeping up with the Dutchman. A déjà vu moment for Red Bull with Albon. Hence, the end result was pretty much the same for both the number 2 drivers. While Gasly got sent back to AlphaTauri, Albon had to warm the bench for an entire season before earning a seat at Williams for 2022.
Nevertheless, despite being demoted to a much-inferior car, Gasly pulled off stunning performances, including a race win and occasional podiums. Hence, amidst such an amazing stint at AlphaTauri, Gasly seems to have regained Red Bull’s attention.
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Jonathan Wheatley, Red Bull’s sporting director, admitted that Gasly is ready to compete at the championship level again after amassing decent performances at AlphaTauri.
“We’ve brought more young drivers to the team in recent years than any other team,” he told The Jack Threlfall Show according to Motorsport. “Last year we wanted to win not just the drivers’ championship, but both championships. For that, you need both drivers to compete.
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MONZA, ITALY – SEPTEMBER 06: Race winner Pierre Gasly of France and Scuderia AlphaTauri celebrates in parc ferme during the F1 Grand Prix of Italy at Autodromo di Monza on September 06, 2020 in Monza, Italy. (Photo by Dan Istitene – Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images)
“But we also learned to support a young driver with problems and we learned a lot from both Alex and Pierre. Returning to a smaller team, Pierre regained his confidence there. I believe he is once again ready to take the next step in his career.”
Overall, Gasly has a crucial season ahead as Red Bull will carefully scrutinize all of his performances. Hence, with the spotlight falling right on him, can the Frenchman deliver yet another exhilarating season to bolster his chances of replacing Sergio Perez next year?
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