Pierre Gasly’s career until his arrival in Formula 1 was full of successes until his title in the GP2 Series in the 2016 season, which would have earned him a place in the top category if not that all the seats were occupied. That stopped his natural climb, so he had to try his luck beyond Europe and go to Japan, where he became runner-up in the Super Formula of the Land of the Rising Sun. That achievement earned him to land at Toro Rosso, at the end of 2017, as a substitute for Carlos Sainz, who had gone to Renault.
Since then, the Frenchman has shown that he has enough skills to be one of the chosen ones in the Red Bull duo, the main team of the energy drink brand in the Great Circus. However, in his debut with those from Milton Keynes in 2019, Gasly did not measure up alongside Max Verstappen, barely lasting 12 races in which he never got on the podium.
His relegation to Toro Rosso, which would later become AlphaTauri, was a motivation for the Frenchman, since he got his first drawer of honor in Brazil in 2019, and his first victory in Formula 1 at the much-remembered Italian Grand Prix in 2020. After that and a fairly complete year in 2021, the Frenchman believes that it is time to make the leap again to a team that is at the front of the grid, despite not having achieved great successes in the current season.
In an exclusive interview with Motorsport.com, the Ruan driver opened up, explaining that he was glad to be among the teams’ options for the future . In addition, he stated that he felt prepared to make the leap to a large team.
“Now I am much more complete, I think I have shown that I could grow and achieve good results with a car from the middle zone, and with all the respect I have for AlphaTauri, they will always be at a certain distance from the best team,” said the Frenchman. . “We can get to the podium, even to victory. We have shown that it is not impossible; there was a one percent chance and we did it.”
“Last year I think it was a very consistent season, and that’s what I wanted to show, that I’m capable of always being there, in qualifying and in the race, capable of contributing points to the team,” defended Pierre Gasly. “And it was my most successful year as a driver at AlphaTauri, I think it was important to show that, since I came back to this team we have done a series of incredible races, days to remember.”
Asked about the rumors in the paddock about his possible move to McLaren or Alpine after the controversy between Oscar Piastri and Daniel Ricciardo, and if that meant his reputation had changed, he said: “Glad to hear it. After just one season in Formula 1 I moved up to Red Bull, and at that point they gave me a great opportunity because they saw my potential.”
“If I think about it now, after five years in Formula 1, I think I am a more complete driver. I have much more experience, I am more efficient working with the team, I know exactly what I want from the car and my comments are much clearer. We grow and learn”, commented the Frenchman.
However, Pierre Gasly has a contract in place with AlphaTauri for 2023 , which secures him a seat in the Faenza outfit for his fourth full-time season with the Italians. For several weeks, his name was the most talked about in the paddock, because there was speculation about a possible departure from the team: “It was fun to see it because my situation with Red Bull is clear, which means that I still have a year of contract with them “.
“I think there have been so many rumors around my name because Red Bull had not yet clearly announced what they had planned with me, at least I think so,” he said. “Because there were so many rumours, I also discussed it with Helmut [Marko, Red Bull advisor], because beyond the current contracts, we always see each other every year to talk about the future.”
“He was very clear in telling me that they wanted to keep me at AlphaTauri. Once they signed Perez, they wanted me to stay where I am, and we will continue until my contract expires,” explained the Frenchman. “Next year will be my 10th as a Red Bull driver, unbelievable. After that? We’ll see what happens.”
