Before the 2023 season started, Pierre Gasly spend the entirety of his F1 career in the Red Bull ranks. The Frenchman drove for Toro Rosso before joining Red Bull for half a season, after which he was demoted back to the sister team, overseeing their transition into Scuderia AlphaTauri over the years. However, according to F1 Photojournalist, Kym Illman, Red Bull has declared that Gasly is no longer a part of their family, by denying him a very basic privilege.
Towards the end of the 2022 season, Gasly’s relationship with Red Bull began to sour. The Frenchman was not happy at AlphaTauri, a team with whom he could barely scrape into the points. Plus, the chances of Red Bull calling him back to the main team seemed slim, with Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez’s partnership being ironclad. In 2023, Gasly ended up leaving the Red Bull camp to join Alpine.
At the 2023 Monaco GP, Gasly, like many F1 drivers do, arrived on the circuit on a boat. When he went over to the Red Bull energy station to dock his boat, the people there turned him away. It was a clear and stark reminder to Gasly, that he isn’t a part of the team anymore.
Pierre Gasly not allowed to park in Red Bull’s spot in Monaco
Gasly is not associated with Red Bull Racing anymore. He drove for their main team for just half a season and spent the rest of his time at AlphaTauri/Toro Rosso before switching to Alpine. However, AlphaTauri/Toro Rosso is a sister team of Red Bull, and they enjoy the same privileges as the main team does.
Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about Alpine drivers. As a result, when Gasly took his boat over to the Red Bull energy station, he was turned away. Of course, the Milton-Keynes-based outfit isn’t obliged to let drivers of any other team dock their boats in an area that is specifically reserved for themselves.
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As photographer Illman wrote on his Instagram account, ‘Pierre Gasly had hoped to dock his boat at the Red Bull energy station but he was turned away. Those privileges have been withdrawn.’
A lot of times, former drivers are welcome with open arms, either because they were special to the team, or because of marketing reasons. Gasly, who was involved in neither was simply not allowed to dock next to his former teammates. This signifies that all bridges between the two parties have been burned, and their relationship has come to an end.
Fans react to Gasly not being allowed to enter Red Bull energy zone
Most fans agreed with Red Bull’s decision of not allowing Gasly to return to their energy zone. It is an understandable call, admittedly, since the French driver isn’t a part of the team anymore.
“Why should RB let him park there? He’s not apart of the program anymore,” a fan going by the name Parke Bridgeman wrote on Instagram.
However, there were some fans who felt that Red Bull were being petty. Several comments on the Instagram post shared by Illman involved fans saying things like, “Red Bull doing Red Bull things.”
Since there are so many celebrities and millionaires from all over the world who flock to Monaco on their boats for the race, one could understand why Gasly had concerns regarding finding a spot for his own boat. But since he managed to suit up and get ready for FP1 on time, it is safe to assume that he did.
