The Frenchman had hoped to return to Red Bull after performing at a good level in AlphaTauri, but the door seems to have closed with the renewal of Sergio Pérez until the end of the 2024 season. Although Pierre Gasly still has a year on his contract with the team from Faenza, looks further, so it should be separated from the family of energy drinks.
Amid the rumors that Daniel Ricciardo is moving away from McLaren after his poor performances, the Frenchman has been appointed to occupy the seat alongside Lando Norris from 2024 if Woking decides to dispense with the Australian.
For the first time since Pérez signed his new contract with Red Bull, Gasly said in Baku that he was more open-minded to looking at other places in Formula 1 in the long term outside the Austrian structure.
Asked by Motorsport.com if, as a highly regarded driver, he was in a privileged position in the market, the Ruan man said: “I don’t know if you can call that a strong place, but at the moment, for sure, beyond 2023, I consider all options, as I have nothing further ahead.”
“So, for now, we’ll see it,” he explained. “These are things we have to discuss with Helmut [Marko, Red Bull adviser], obviously they want to keep me on the programme, but as I say, we have to see how to make this work, and talks are ongoing.
Pierre Gasly expressed that he fully understood why Red Bull committed to Pérez , and that the important thing was to know better where his bosses put him in the future.
“For me, it’s logical,” he said of Checo’s renewal with the energy drinks team. “Not that it was a surprise because I am a very objective person, and based on what they expect from the second driver, Perez ticks all the boxes.”
“He is having an incredible season,” said the Frenchman. “He’s performing very well, he’s fast, he’s got some financial backing, good experience and he fits in with the team, so it wasn’t a surprise at all for me.”
“But obviously, on the other hand, the impact it has on my career and my ambitions have been affected,” Gasly said. “So that’s what we’re talking about now with Helmut, to find what’s best for all of us, and how we go from there.”
Although he is disappointed to learn that there are no immediate opportunities at Red Bull, the Frenchman is glad that the timing of the decision means he has more clarity to think and see things in the long term: “I think it’s good.”
“It always is by being clear about it and knowing what is happening. You don’t want to end up in a situation where in November or December you see that something is happening, so it’s better on that side,” said the AlphaTauri player.
