Red Bull and Christian Horner still think of Pierre Gasly
Despite the announcement of Sergio Pérez's contract extension for another year, Red Bull does not rule out a return of Pierre Gasly alongside Max Verstappen in 2023.
There was frustration in Pierre Gasly’s words after the announcement of Sergio Pérez’s contract renewal for 2022 at Red Bull.
« I’m having the best season at Toro Rosso and AlphaTauri, all drivers combined, since they started in F1 over the last 15 years. Red Bull prefers to continue with Sergio (Perez) and when we see his performances at Zandvoort when he is eliminated in Q1 and finishes 8th in the race one lap down on his teammate (…) there are some things that we don’t really understand.
. @PierreGASLY à Jean Alesi pour @canalplus: “Ça paiera à l'avenir…”#ItalianGP
▶️ https://t.co/7plkVVV12v pic.twitter.com/nCFrywINOo
— CANAL+ F1® (@CanalplusF1) September 12, 2021
After a lackluster first half of the season in the main team in 2019 and a demotion to AlphaTauri (formerly Toro Rosso), the French driver has little hope of being promoted to Red Bull.
However, Christian Horner, director of the team at the bull, does not rule out a return of Pierre Gasly to support Max Verstappen.
« I will never exclude anything. He drivers at a very good level. He is still very young, he is doing good work. For 2023, we have several options available, so when you are in the situation we find ourselves in, it is exactly what we want. »
Pierre Gasly has done a phenomenal job with AlphaTauri over the past two seasons, and their aspirations continue to grow, so it’s a good thing that he retains the lead driver seat there. He remains a Red Bull Racing driver loaned to AlphaTauri.
A flourishing industry
The energy drink brand has heavily invested in Formula 1 but also in promotional formulas by guiding the careers of many drivers. Even with 2 teams and therefore 4 seats available to them in F1, there won’t be room for everyone and choices will have to be made. A prime example is Alex Albon, who under contract with Red Bull will drive for Williams next year. In fact, 25% of the F1 grid will be made up of drivers belonging to the Austrian company (5 out of 20 drivers).
« We have this group of young talents coming up, we have Liam Lawson and Jüri Vips in F2, we have Dennis Hauger leading in F3, and a very promising young American, Jak Crawford. So there is strength and depth in the junior program. » Christian Horner said.
