Pierre Gasly addresses his contractual situation after starting as he prepares for his third consecutive season for Alpha Tauri.
Pierre Gasly debuted in Formula One in late 2017 as the GP2 champion, has nearly always raced for the Faenza-based team.
After a great first full season in 2018, he got promoted to Red Bull for 2019. Gasly was sent to Toro Rosso, where he swiftly rebounded, after struggling for form alongside Max Verstappen.
In 2020, he won a race with the rebranded AlphaTauri, and in 2021, he had his best-ever season, finishing tenth in the Drivers’ Championship with 110 points.
Trapped in AlphaTauri and nowhere to go?
The Frenchman was questioned if he feels trapped at AlphaTauri because the path back to Red Bull appears to be closed, while Ferrari, McLaren, and Mercedes all have long-term partnerships in place as well as their own drivers on their squads.
“No, because the market will change. “For many drivers, contracts will expire in 2023. There will be opportunities. Everything happens very quickly in Formula 1. I am not too worried. There are opportunities, I know that. We’ll see when it’s the right time.” Gasly addressed the media
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“At the moment I am concentrating on every race weekend, on my performance. I give my best. The best I can do is repeat results as I did in Mexico – to finish fifth in qualifying, behind Mercedes and Red Bull in a midfield car.
“I would certainly do better with a faster car. That’s the only thing that matters.”
In a perfect world, the best we can do is finish second. Red Bull will always be ahead of us
Gasly believes that the best he can realistically aim for is to bring AlphaTauri to a level where the two Red Bull teams are the dominant force in F1 but do not foresee a situation where the senior team will end up behind the junior.
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“In a perfect world, the best we can do is finish second. Red Bull will always be ahead of us,” he commented.
“But only if everyone messes up with the new car. It happens in my wildest dreams, but it’s not realistic.
“We see it as an opportunity. Everyone starts with a blank sheet of paper. In doing so, you can find something that others have not yet done. That can potentially make all the difference.
“On the other hand, you can also go in the wrong direction with the design. That would be a nasty surprise. I’m preparing for all possible scenarios.
“Maybe things will go better than this season and we are where McLaren is right now. Maybe we’ll stay where we are. But maybe we’re fighting to get into the top 10 at all, or even worse. You have to be realistic.
“Next year could be tough. We come from a year in which we were regularly in the top six or top 10. You have to keep in mind that things could go worse. But we want to think positively.”
Ready to move to a new atmosphere in 2023?
Regardless of the machinery’s competitiveness, Gasly understands that Red Bull has secured his near future.
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“The contract runs until 2023,” he confirmed when asked for an update on the situation.
“At the moment the plan is for a cockpit in 2024. We’ll see. As I said, the situation in Formula 1 is changing rapidly. I don’t know what Red Bull is going to do with me, whether they want to continue or release me beforehand. We’ll talk about that later.”
