Pierre Gasly, AlphaTauri, Monza, 2020

Hamilton: Gasly deserves win after unfair treatment by Red Bull

2020 Italian Grand Prix

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Lewis Hamilton says Pierre Gasly deserved his victory in the Italian Grand Prix after Red Bull dropped him from their team in the middle of last season.

Gasly was dropped by Red Bull after just 12 races last year. Since his return to Toro Rosso – now AlphaTauri – he has enjoyed better results, and he took a surprise win following Hamilton’s penalty in today’s race.

Hamilton praised his rival following his breakthrough victory.

“Pierre is just a really nice guy,” he said. “I think he has a lot of talent and I don’t think he was necessarily treated fairly at Red Bull in the end when he got demoted.

“It’s not easy for a driver when that happens and so I empathise with that. I think to then build the confidence up, in a necessarily not-as-quick team, and then come around with some really great performances he’s had this year already with that car and then to get himself a win, it’s not easy to do that.

“I’m really impressed, I think he’s done a fantastic job and deserves the success and hopefully that creates an opportunity for him moving forwards. But also he beat the team that demoted him so it’s definitely got to hurt them.”

Gasly said his first win could not have come in better circumstances, just over 12 months since his departure from Red Bull. “I am lost for words right now because I still am still struggling to realise what’s happened for us,” he said.

“It’s my first win in Formula 1. A couple of months ago I got my first podium in Brazil. And then today it’s my first win in Monza with AlphaTauri, which is an Italian team. So it could have not been better.

“We worked so hard, day by day, race after race, after everything that happened to me in the last 18 months. I could not have hoped for a better way to to get my first win.”

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57 comments on “Hamilton: Gasly deserves win after unfair treatment by Red Bull”

  1. Hamilton needs to mind his own business.

    Taking Russia 2018 off of Bottas is treating someone poorly.

    Gasly’s results were terrible at RBR. They couldn’t let him go on any longer. Albon was immediately better.

    1. Tell it to Horner as well who decided to have a crack at Mercedes for favoring Hamilton. Which is now more ironic as the former and formerly disgraced second RBR driver is now looking like a hero.

      1. don’t compare Lewis to Horner. One is a champion and an F1 legend in the making, while the other is a corporate boss that is actually paid to rattle the cage of rival teams.

        IMO, Lewis should stay away from remarks like this, I feel it is beneath him and the image he’s trying to show as the one to admire in the whole paddock (fighting rasism, pushing for underprivileged young drivers to get more chances, promoting vegan foods). I like Lewis, but meddling with other teams business should not be on his agenda, but I guess he just can’t help it and can’t rise above these petty things.

    2. Really? That’s your conclusion from reading Hamilton’s praise and congratulations for Gasly? To complain about something to do with Bottas in 2018 and say he should keep his mouth shut?

      I’m sure millions feel exactly the same way, and also recognize that being on the Red Bull driver ladder and/or being up against Verstappen has been harsh for more than one driver. Even Ricciardo voted with his feet on that situation.

    3. He doesn’t give a F about how Red Bull treated Gasly. Simply that’s just a dirty game between them.

      1. Gasly probably will take this pat on the back anyway. He deserves it. Who cares?

    4. … except Albon has yet to improve, and Gasly has.

    5. David Dumbo – you need to mind your own business. Hamilton tells it like it is. Gasly is doing a much better job than Albon.

      1. Hamilton just makes PR statements. I love his driving, not so much his talking. It just breathes insecurity with everything he says. He is so inconsistent in his messaging, its getting to a Trump level. No, thats too harsh, but its getting there…

        1. Lewis insecure? You should ask your psychoanalyst why you think that.

    6. Ignoring your second and third sentences, Lewis needs to keep himself to himself. There are far too many folks that will just jump on him for having an opinion.

      1. David Bondo is a classic example of that.

      2. You are right, but Lewis has brought that on himself.

    7. Lol no albo wasn’t any better he was like close to a second off max in the first race and kept on crashing

    8. just a chance to take a jab at red bull tbf.

    9. Well tell that to Horner first. Lol.
      But what Lewis said is true. Every driver on the grid is extremely talented, may be except for Latifi and Giovinazzi, and Redbull almost killed Gasly’s career.

    10. Hehehehe T-R-I-G-G-E-R-E-D 😂

  2. That does make Horner and Marko look dumb.
    Two podiums for Pierre since the switch, zero for Alex, who was dead last at some point in the race today.

    1. zero for Alex, who was dead last at some point in the race today

      Well to be fair so was Lewis. Only he recovered strongly. Mutual sniping between Mercedes and Red Bull aside, RBR were very poor, a collapse really at Monza (or since the engine mode regulations came in, so keenly demanded by Red Bull themselves). That should be their real issue.

    2. Albon had some damage to his car. I don’t know how much pace he lost, but finishing penultimate to the last car is not on the script.

      I have had enough hearing nonsense from Red Bull. I’ll leave it there. It’s arguably another team besides Ferrari, that can ruin your career.

    3. Albon would have a podium in Brazil 2019 and a win in Austria this year if it wasn’t for….. Hamilton :)

  3. Says the man who mentioned to replace Albon….

  4. This is the kind of crap BOT doesn’t say… but HAM, proving again he’s a sore loser.

    1. HAM simply has to take somebody with him when he’s falling. This time around he had to twist the knife in RBR’s wound. Gasly deserved the win today, but he was a catastrophe at RBR, justified removed from the team. Albon is the new Gasly, don’t know why they keep him so much in the team.

    2. Yes, Bottas wouldn’t be making snide comments about the RB. Well not since he did yesterday.

    3. Lol sorry hamilton is telling the truth red bull look like idiots the guy they fired was able to get a podium and a win in what is supposed to be a slower car then their own

    4. @mg1982 Doesn’t praising the person who beat him the opposite of being sore loser?

    5. “I need to say a huge congratulations for Pierre because that’s a fantastic result for him.

      “I’ve obviously seen what he’s been through from being dropped from the top team [Red Bull] and now he’s beat the top team.

      “It’s such fantastic to see him recover and to generally see him grow. I am genuinely really happy for him.”

      @mg1982 And yet he’s a “sore loser”? Grow up.

    6. HAM simply wins, and adjusts….drop me 26 seconds behind the last car…fine…i still finish 7th…mitigating damage to points, and just 2 away from my teammate who had it all to do and did nothing. Hamilton. King. Power. You’re done. Good luck with that.

    7. Lol, sore loser?
      You got problems with your trash life.

  5. Im a Lewis fan, but haha this is funny given the other day he was talking about the need for there to be two red bulls playing strategy. Fair play though this was a nice gesture.

  6. No one would say RedBull made the wrong decision if Hamilton didn’t give unfair treatment to Albon at the first race.

    1. Albon was nowhere before the Safety Car and was only in contention because of a strategy. He would underperform on the subsequent races anyway and be under pressure just like he is now. It isn’t a fluke result like that and Brazil last year that would secure his seat.

      1. If Albon won the first race, he will be known as a race champion that passed Lewis, not lucked into position because Lewis got penalty. About on the subsequent races, if you follow F 1.5 championship, Albon was a leader before Monza even with one DNF.

        1. But albon shouldn’t be in the f 1.5, there’s the flaw! He’s driving a red bull, the same car verstappen once beat mercedes with and several times bottas!

  7. Tbh that was the same reason why I personally didn’t mind gasly winning despite his insane luck

    1. Gutted Lewis lost the race but luck is the most important element in life.

      You can be extremely good, but without luck you won’t be alive even.

  8. I read Marko saying that Hamilton had contacted Red Bull, pushing to put Albon in the car.

    Gasly certainly deserved the win. He was dropped from Red Bull perhaps too fast but even after this I think Albon’s got more long-term potential. He’s still better wheel-to-wheel, and not far off a much more experienced Gasly’s pace. Swapping Gasly was the wrong choice, as would swapping Albon now. Clearly with the right atmosphere Gasly can thrive, as Albon did at the same team. Perhaps more than switching drivers Red Bull should start to look at the atmosphere they’re fostering in their team, as the 2nd car – be it Kvyat, Ricciardo, Gasly or Albon never seems to have much luck and suffers runs of low confidence. Pretty bad when the ‘sister’ team can get better performances out of their drivers than the lead team.

    1. Red Bull should start to look at the atmosphere they’re fostering in their team, as the 2nd car – be it Kvyat, Ricciardo, Gasly or Albon never seems to have much luck and suffers runs of low confidence

      This is a key point for Red Bull if they want to go back to their winning days. It was not perfect but it worked with Vettel and Webber, I wonder what has changed since.

    2. Wow. That’s a lie.
      Marko called MUAH and told me to drive next to Verstappen, but I refused as Redbull is simply too slow 😃😃😃😃😃😃

  9. This is just a continuation of the MB/RBR politics that we seem to have at the moment that has been exaggerated by the engine mode TD.

    Hamilton probably spotted a further opportunity to take a dig at RBR and took it. Wouldn’t surprise me if Toto suggested it to Hamilton in the first place as an easy way to destabilise the RBR camp.

    These are standard mind games at the top level of any sport, don’t read too much into it.

  10. Red bull very quiet since demanding engine maps and suffering the worst…..karma

  11. The headline is a bit of a stretch. It’s not a quote and Hamilton put it much more nuanced.

  12. “Man wins race, other man says something”

  13. Weird rhetoric.
    It was quite clear that Gasly wasn’t coping with the pressure and was starting to blow himself up. He needed a breather and got that by going back to Toro Rosso.
    The same thing is happening now with Albon. Something similar happened to Kvyat.

    All 3 drivers were moved early to Red Bull, due to other drivers leaving the organisation. First Vettel left for Ferrari, forcing RB to move Kvyat.
    Then Danny Ric left, forcing RB to move Gasly.

    On top of that the chassis of RB is on a knife’s edge, making it even more difficult for a new driver to learn F1, the car and bring the fight to your talented teammate.

    1. Based on the insights provided by “Drive to survive” season 2, Gasly in the Redbull seems perplexed but never in self doubt.

      I think he’s not half as bad as what Redbull allowed. Something very wrong in the RB camp. First Daniel dumped them, then Gasly and Albon aren’t able to drive a miserable machine bolted to Max’s spine.

      Time for RB to make changes. I think max is the problem.

      1. I think Max is the only thing working for them. If they need to improve on anything, it’s their car’s design philosophy, which is clearly inferior to Mercedes. The car’s drivability needs to improve with it’s speed. No point in having a car that has a narrow operating window where only an exceptional talent can get the most out of it. There’s no way the #2 driver will properly get to grips with it.

        Honda also needs to get it’s act together. If it wasn’t for Ferrari dropping the ball so massively after being caught, Honda would once again be the slowest PU on the grid. Renault seem to have made a genuine step ahead in PU performance this year despite having significantly lesser resources as their disposal as compared to Honda.

      2. Oh yes, all drivers will have selfconfidence. Yet at the same time pressure can do weird things to a person in the heat of the moment. Giving drivers a break from that pressure, if it is possible, is a luxury position to be in.

        Gasly has apparently said in interviews yesterday, that he thinks he is ready for a return to RB. And I assume that is exactly what RB was looking for, for him to bounce back.

        Having a top quality driver in your team, like Max, Lewis, Seb, Nando etc, is always going to be a problem. He puts a team on edge, puts the other driver under more pressure, and it can naturally lead to the team focussing more of its attention on the top driver. It’s like placing a bet on the favorite instead of the underdog.

  14. Gasly needs to be careful or he may be ‘rewarded’ with a driver swap back to RB, infact I think it’s quite close.

    1. @johnrkh XD Funny and pertinent. You’re right, Gasly should be wary about an incoming offer he sadly may not be able to refuse.

  15. Well well. Big it up for all of the armchair experts for sure!
    ALL of you are missing the much bigger & way more toxic picture here.
    RBR continuing history of demoting, disheartening, disappointing 1 of their drivers.
    List all of the demotions, defections that have occurred in the last 6 years.
    Something is rotten at the core of RBR management.
    Human relations & decency are totally absent.
    Irony of team 2 stuffing team 1 is delicious!

  16. This was fun yes. Gasly, dropped by Red Bull now bags a win while his replacement Albon scores another Antonymous race.

    Monza rewards fast cars with low drag/downforce. Hence even mighty Mercedes were pretty anonymous once in the pack.

    Perfect place for some B-Team to score a podium, or even Victory.

  17. Ha, ha, Hamilton playing games right back at Horner and Marko. Glorious. The sad thing is, he’s 100% correct too.

    I would feel sorry for Gasly to be put back in that #2 position in Red Bull though.

    Even worse, Gasly shows there is nothing wrong with that Honda engine on Monza. It just puts Red Bull to shame that they again (just like Hungary) are unable to set up the car properly.

  18. If there wasn’t enough evidence how toxic Rell Bull management really is! But as long as it feeds Max’s own ego (and his bosses), it’s business as usual. I just hope there’s some way to save Albon’s career. He seems to be a genuinely nice guy and a great racer. He deserves a lot more than that career hara-kiri seat in on right now. And please, some team principal grab Gasly from Red Bull.

  19. I can understand the criticism on Red Bull because it hurts to see Gasly and Albon suffer in the second Red Bull seat. I don’t know why both drivers are excelling in a Toro Rosso (Alpha Tauri) but struggling in a Red Bull. It is probably a mix of the pressure, the difficult handling of the car and Verstappen-favouritism but it was clear that Gasly was driving poorly in that Red Bull.

  20. It would be fascinating to see how Gasly would perform if he was put back in the Red Bull team. Both he and Albon undeniably fell apart to some extent when trying to drive a fast, but tricky to drive car as well as Max.

    You’d hope Gasly’s experience of building himself back up has made him better equipped to deal with the pressure of a top team again. He’s got the talent (and probably more than Albon), but the ability to handle that higher level of pressure will remain a question mark until he is put back in that position again.

    If Gasly continues the performance level he has shown so far this year, and just as importantly he feels ready to take on the challenge again, I’d love to see him back in a Red Bull next year. And by the same token Albon continues to under-perform, he might well benefit from a swap in the long-term.

    1. @simon999 Fair comment.

      I think what the anti-RBR brigade is missing here, as does LH miss, is the very fact that Gasly was not ready for the pressure of a top team, and rather than being canned completely in favour of the next young RBR jr driver, he was given a chance to stay on the B team and regroup, and that is exactly what he has done. But he hasn’t done that alone. It is a team and without the team supporting him he would not have rebuilt his confidence.

      So it is of course convenient for the naysayers to shoot down RBR, Horner, Marko etc for treating Gasly poorly, but in reality they treated him so ‘poorly’ he has now won a race. Everyone at RBR’s two teams will be chuffed that by retaining Gasly and nurturing him, that has proved successful. And of course that a Honda car won.

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