Official: Pierre Gasly stays with AlphaTauri
In great form since his return to AlphaTauri, Pierre Gasly is having a very good season. He has just been confirmed with the Italian team for next season, which rules out a return to Red Bull.
What a turnaround for Pierre Gasly! At Spa-Francorchamps last year, he was demoted from Red Bull to Toro Rosso because the energy drink company believed Alex Albon could achieve better results than the Frenchman. However, he managed to bounce back, crowned with a very impressive second place at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
This year, he is in outstanding form, consistently reaching Q3 on Saturdays and earning points on Sundays, with the highlight being his remarkable victory at Monza. This allows him to accumulate 63 points, translating to a ninth place in the championship. He is just one point behind Alex Albon but more significantly 49 points ahead of his teammate, Daniil Kvyat, who has been completely invisible this season.
One might then wonder if Red Bull would reconsider its decision and swap the seats again. This solution would have been undesirable for all parties involved since it would not have been easy to return after last year’s failure. Above all, the Norman feels like a fish in water within the small Faenza team, which allows him to give his best: « I am extremely happy to continue with Scuderia AlphaTauri for an additional season. This year is going very well, and we are in a position to achieve the best season in the team’s history. I have an excellent relationship with the team, and we have been able to seize all available opportunities, the best being the Italian Grand Prix. »
If AlphaTauri has confirmed the Frenchman, nothing is said about the other seats within the Red Bull galaxy. Daniil Kvyat’s place is more threatened than ever as Honda may be keen on promoting Yuki Tsunoda for its last year in the discipline. The young Japanese driver is having a very fine season in F2 and has also joined the Red Bull junior driver program, which is quite devoid of promising drivers.
It is even rumored that Red Bull is breaking its rule of always selecting drivers from its own pool and is seriously considering the possibility of signing Nico Hülkenberg, who has impressed during his stints with Racing Point and is appealing for being reliable, consistent, and very experienced, without threatening Max Verstappen’s dominance within the team.
