Red Bull appear to be opening the door for Pierre Gasly, whose contract expires at the end of the 2023 season, to pursue other opportunities.
Pierre Gasly was promoted to Red Bull Racing as Max Verstappen’s teammate in 2019, but was relegated to the junior team again after just 12 races. But he has since rebuilt his reputation as one of the leading performers on the F1 grid.
However, after Pierre Gasly has sought a second chance for several years, Red Bull Racing has extended Sergio Perez’s contract until 2024. The road to re-promotion was virtually cut off.
There are many voices in the F1 community who strongly desire Pierre Gasly to follow in Carlos Sainz Jr.’s footsteps and forge his own path away from the Red Bull family.
And, judging by comments from Red Bull F1’s motorsport advisor Helmut Marko, Pierre Gasly may leave Red Bull at the end of 2023.
When asked if Red Bull would let Pierre Gasly go to pursue other opportunities in F1, Helmut Marko said: “We have a good relationship. As a team leader, he has had great success with AlphaTauri in recent years. I have it,” he commented.
“But (Tsunoda) Yuki is already at Gasly’s level in terms of single-shot speed, although the race hasn’t gone as well for Gasly as it did last season.”
“Nevertheless, we improved Gasly’s contract financially, even if we didn’t have to.”
“Due to Perez’s contract, Gasly will not be joining Red Bull Racing in 2023. From 2024, Gasly will be free.”
Helmut Marko has admitted that Pierre Gasly has become a better driver compared to 2019, but he still seems unconvinced that he is approaching Max Verstappen’s standards on a regular basis.
“Gathly was lapped by Max in Hungary 2019,” recalled Helmut Marko.
“He’s definitely more solid and more confident, but it’s hard to say how well he can hold himself against Verstappen.”
Category: F1 / red bull / Pierre Guthrie / Alpha Tauri / Hiroki Tsunoda