F1 race winner Pierre Gasly is under contract to AlphaTauri until the end of 2023, but said earlier this year that 2022 would likely be his last chance to prove he deserved to be promoted back to Red Bull , having been relegated. to AlphaTauri during the 2019 season.
Since returning to the Faenza team, Gasly has grown as a driver and has led the structure. Together with them, he achieved his first victory in Formula 1 at the 2020 Italian Grand Prix, and also stood on the podium at the 2019 Brazilian GP and the 2021 Azerbaijan GP.
Following Sergio Pérez’s victory at the Monaco Grand Prix last week, Red Bull announced a two-year extension to the Mexican driver’s contract, so he will remain with the team at least until the end of the 2024 season.
This decision made it clear to Gasly that he will have no option of returning to Red Bull when his current contract expires, which will happen at the end of next season.
But Helmut Marko reckons that even if Red Bull decided to let the French driver out before the end of his contract, he wouldn’t find a better seat than AlphaTauri.
“Before signing, of course, I spoke to Gasly , explained the situation to him and, yes, we will have to see what happens with him after 2023,” Marko told Motorsport.com’s sister website Formel1.de .
Asked if Red Bull intended to let Gasly out before the end of his contract, Marko said: “What would be his alternative? I don’t think there is any option for him at the moment that is much better than AlphaTauri.” .
Marko also assured that AlphaTauri is very likely to continue with Gasly and Yuki Tsunoda next year, acknowledging that Red Bull ‘s young drivers will have to wait longer for promotion to Formula 1.
“I can assume that the current drivers are almost confirmed,” said Marko.
“But, I mean, we still have the coronavirus, which means we need other replacement drivers.
“Obviously I don’t expect anyone to get sick, but they will have to wait another year.”
When asked about the possibility of placing one of Red Bull’s young drivers with another F1 team, Marko explained that the current Formula 2 champion Oscar Piastri’s situation was the best example of how complicated it is for younger drivers find available seats on the current grid of motorsport’s top flight.
“You can see with Alpine how bad they are having to find a place for Piastri ,” he concluded.
