Over the past 24 months the story of Pierre Gasly has been accompanied by highs and lows that could rival any Hollywood script. Following Ricciardo’s departure from the Red Bull outfit, Gasly was promoted to replace the 7 time race winner but was demoted halfway into the season back to the then named Scuderia Toro Rosso.
Written by Andrew Lwanga, edited by Janvi Unni
Gasly then went on an absolute tear acquiring 3 podiums including the first win for the now rebranded Scuderia Alpha Tauri in their home race.
Following these impressive performances many including the Frenchman have been calling for a second chance at Red Bull, these calls have seemingly fallen on deaf ears but have now managed to elicit a response from the Red Bull hierarchy.
Red Bull’s senior advisor and man in charge of their development academy Dr Helmut Marko has said that Gasly will not receive promotion in the immediate future. Dr Marko further stated that Gasly will either receive promotion or be completely let go in the next two years.
“We are looking at his progress,” he said, “and in the next two years we will make a decision whether he’ll be on the free market or whether we’ll take him into Red Bull.”
Marko went on to say that he’d rather Gasly lead the junior team at the moment and stated that he doubts whether or not the Frenchman is up to the task of competing alongside Max Verstappen.
“He is driving at his best, but being number one in a very good B-team is a very different story to being number two to Max Verstappen at a top team, mentally that makes a big difference.”
In conjunction with the Frenchman’s future, Marko may have inadvertently also hinted at current Red Bull driver Sergio Perez’s future.
“Perez is 31 years now, so he won’t be too long in Red Bull Racing.” Perez is the first driver apart from Verstappen to win a race with Red Bull since 2018 and although his performances haven’t been the most revolutionary he has so far succeeded in doing a better job as a number 2 driver than his predecessors.
Although Gasly is 6 younger than Perez and has been in the Red Bull family for most his life, the fact that Perez has been able to accomplish what Gasly failed to do bodes well for his case. However one cannot overlook the fact that Gasly is younger and has managed to have 3 podiums in a midfield car.
As the unscripted and ever unpredictable future continues to unfold, only one thing remains certain. A difficult decision awaits Red Bull.
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