Pierre Gasly, AlphaTauri, , Monza, 2020

Gasly: I’m ready for Red Bull return

2020 Italian Grand Prix

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Pierre Gasly says he’s ready for a chance to drive for Red Bull again following his victory in the Italian Grand Prix.

The AlphaTauri driver moved to Red Bull at the beginning of his second season in Formula 1 last year. However he was dropped by the team after 12 races, during which time team mate Max Verstappen out-scored him by 181 points to 63.

Since returning to Toro Rosso (now AlphaTauri), Gasly has produced a series of impressive results. He finished second in Brazil last year then went one better at Monza on Sunday.

He believes he is ready to drive for a top team again if he gets the chance. “I think I’m ready, but as I said, it’s not up to me to make that call,” said Gasly.

“The only thing I’ve done since they moved me back to Toro Rosso has been just to focus on myself and just show what I can do.

“When I get the right tools in my hand I’m really happy that the performance we’ve shown – and I’m not only talking about Brazil – I think generally we’ve been pretty strong most of the time.

“We’ve had some really strong qualifying [performances], really strong races since. We’ll see what happens.”

Gasly is only the second driver to win a race for AlphaTauri or Toro Rosso since Sebastian Vettel’s win for them at Monza in 2008.

“There have been many, many strong drivers in Toro Rosso,” Gasly continued. “I’m really happy to be one of the two that have managed to get a win for this team.

“Obviously I guess the strong results should be rewarded with something but we will see what happens. At the moment it’s not something I really want to think about. I just want to enjoy this moment, because it’s my first win in F1 and I will have time to think about this later.”

Gasly’s his breakthrough victory came as a surprise to him following his departure from Red Bull.

“I would have never expected that a year ago when I got back to Toro Rosso,” he said. “The podium was already unexpected and a big, big highlight last year.

“And then I wasn’t ready for that win. Even though you always try to imagine the best scenario, the best car, the best race, everything the best way. We know that it happened only once in the whole history of Toro Rosso in Formula 1.”

He said team principal Franz Tost took extra satisfaction from winning the race in dry conditions. “Franz actually told me: ‘you know we’ve done it in the wet, I’m really proud of you because today we’ve done it in the dry now.'”

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89 comments on “Gasly: I’m ready for Red Bull return”

  1. I’m ready for a 3 driver shoot-out, Gasly, Albon and Kvyat, simulated race weekend with all three on the track at the same time, winner gets the seat. I’d even pay PPV prices to see it.

    1. Yes, get the four of them a 2018 car and a full weekend to assess how they compare against Verstappen.

    2. Sadly, I think we already know the result regarding Kvyat. He’s not exactly shined in comparison to Gasly. I was hoping for more from him.

      1. Again, he was faster in race on hard, than Gasly on soft.

      2. Funny to think Gasly was holding Kvyat up and Kvyat demanded a decision on the Situation. Then they pitted Gasly and that won Gasly the race. So Gasly can thank his teammate for demanding a team decision.

    3. Just let Kvyat 4 races and then Gasly 4 races, so all 4 will be compared to reach other and Albon, Gasly and Kvyat will race in same car with same engineers.

  2. Dude, look at Albon. Look at Kvyat. Even look at how Ricciardo’s luck and performance dipped. That 2nd car at Red Bull’s cursed. At the moment you have a team that are actually pushing and supporting you and you want to leave it to go to one that is centered around one car? Red Bull seriously need to look at the atmosphere they have in their team because they are unable to get the most out of two drivers and the 2nd car is permenantly hobbled no matter who drives it – he’d probably get better results staying at AlphaTauri! Personally Gasly should look to emulate Sainz and go to a different team until Red Bull sort out their driver management issues and make their team actually a positive place to be.

    1. Why look to other drivers just look at Gasly and how his performance hit rock bottom.

      This statement from Gasly comes off as quite arrogant and overconfident.

      1. This statement? You mean this answer to a question, presumably asking if he was ready to return to Red Bull. And what driver in their right mind wouldn’t say yes?

    2. GtisBetter (@)
      8th September 2020, 13:24

      That second car isn’t cursed. It’s just the hardest place to be in. There is a massive talent who has plenty of experience in the other car to whom your results will be judged. I doubt the atmosphere is bad, but it is one where you have to perform. This is not some cozy birthday party. Red Bull have invested plenty of time, money and effort in the guys once they are in a Red Bull and it’s time to show them that you are the top. Gasly is not the top. Kvyat isn’t either and neither is Albon. They are just waiting to put Tsunoda in that second car and hope Max won’t leave them, cause then they are truly a midfield team.

      1. @passingisoverrated It’s more like a deserted island with some scrap parts which the driver needs to assemble a car from.

      2. @passingisoverrated but the team has confirmed that they have implemented policies that are resulting in a rather different amount of investment in each driver.

        The team confirmed in 2019 that they were giving a greater degree of technical support to Verstappen, with the most experienced engineers and mechanics being allocated to Verstappen. That wasn’t a coincidental change either – it was a planned and deliberate decision to prioritise Verstappen within the team, and that is intended to be a permanent change in the way the team operates.

        For example, Gasly’s race engineer in 2019, and Albon’s race engineer up until the British Grand Prix this year, was Mike Lugg – an engineer who had no prior experience in F1, whereas Simon Rennie, who had been in that role until then, had 16 years of experience in Formula 1. As an aside, Ricciardo has mentioned that one of the motivating factors for him leaving Red Bull was the fact that they’d told him that his engineering team was going to be broken up at the end of 2018 – this was a move that Red Bull was already planning to make before the 2019 season, and one that was already causing enough concern for Ricciardo that it seems to have helped tip the balance for him to leave the team.

        Similarly, there has also been confirmation that both Gasly and Albon have been driving cars that have not always been the same specification as Verstappen. Marko made a statement before the Italian Grand Prix confirming that Verstappen has been prioritised from the start of this season for receiving upgraded components – the justification being on the grounds that Red Bull apparently has production issues, with Marko claiming that, as Red Bull apparently have not been able to produce enough upgraded components from the start of 2020, Verstappen has been given priority for upgrades in 2020.

        Verstappen’s position at Red Bull shares similarities with that of, say, Alonso when at Renault in the mid 2000s – whilst their team mates might not be explicitly signed as No.2 drivers, there is a definite hierarchy within the team in terms of how resources are being allocated to each driver. Whatever differences in experience and talent there may be, those teams are being run in a way which is probably entrenching those differences.

        1. 100% agree

          1. geoffgroom44 (@)
            9th September 2020, 8:45

            +1

        2. Well well. You make it sound as if the changes Red Bull planned for Ricciardo’s engineering team served no other purpose than to focus the attention away from Ricciardo and to Verstappen.

          In reality Red Bull had no choice. Primarily, Rennie wanted to leave. Never change a winning team, but Ricciardo’s team was losing out; the results were rather meager – 2 wins for Daniel but no other podium finishes where Max had a whole string of podiums despite wasting some chances, like in the very 2 races Daniel won.
          Red Bull wants to win, they don’t care which driver does it. They’ll just do what they need to do to win. If they saw reason to change the team it was for the better.

          1. Bart, you say that “Red Bull wants to win, they don’t care which driver does it”, but there have been times when Red Bull have indicated they do care which drivers win.

            Back in the Vettel-Webber days, Mateschitz indicated he would prefer Vettel to win a title, rather than Webber – because, to him, Vettel fitted the corporate image of Red Bull much better and had a higher commercial advertising value. Financially, therefore, he thought it was in the interests of the team for Vettel to win the WDC because it would be more profitable for the company if he did.

            As an aside, the differences between Verstappen and Ricciardo at the time that Ricciardo announced he was going to Renault weren’t that great, and Ricciardo hardly that meagre – Ricciardo was, at the time, ahead of Verstappen in the World Drivers Championship (with 118 points against 105 for Verstappen). As for points finishes, Ricciardo had two wins, whilst Verstappen had one win and three podium finishes – I wouldn’t say that three podium finishes was necessarily “a whole string of podiums”.

        3. didn’t the engineer wanted to have factory job to be more with his family? And now he is helping Albon…

          1. @Macleod:
            After months of COVID you are surprised someone wants a break of home isolation?

    3. @rocketpanda Kvyat wasn’t at Red Bull Racing at the same time as Max, though, so not directly comparable.

      1. I’d say they are comparable if we’re arguing the point whether Gasly should be swapped back in at Albon’s expense. Evidently that demotion caused a lot of damage to Kvyat and it can’t have helped Gasly at all. Gasly’s response to it was better than Kvyat’s but who knows how Albon would react? You can’t just play with people’s lives, emotions and mental health with such indifference. People work best when they’ve got support, feel appreciated and required, feel like they’re making a difference and you can see that with how Albon, Kvyat & Gasly all performed at TR/AT, which seems to be a far more healthy mental environment than Red Bull where you’re under fire from both the team, the media, the fans and know if you don’t perform your ‘big chance’ can be taken unceremoniously away from you. It was bad when they did it to Kvyat, bad when they did it to Gasly and it will be bad if they do it to Albon.

        Like I’d say I’m a fan of Red Bull, and Honda, but the way they treat people is garbage.

        1. I think @passingisoverrated has it closer to reality than @rocketpanda

          Let’s start with this not being voodoo so no the second car is not cursed. If RBR had their way DR would still be with them. That he left meant RBR had to put drivers who could have used some more time, into the role against a phenom and the driver more engrained on the team. Kvyat crashed too much. Gasly crashed twice in pre-season and cost the team development time. He then had an underwhelming half a season. RBR has the luxury of having a B team so that can do this driving swapping, but I really doubt this is their preferred method. They really just wanted DR to stay and had done enough such that it was a last minute decision that shocked them from DR. That does not sound like RBR wanted him gone and would have preferred playing musical chairs with drivers not quite ready.

          So even Webber with the famous multi-21 incident and the front wing ‘not bad for a number 2’ event, kept re-singing with the team. So how bad was it really? Then along comes DR, and usurps SV and becomes the teams main man, seemingly doing just fine, except for one problem…along comes the phenom Max. I don’t believe for a second there is a problem with the atmosphere at RBR. It worked fine for SV, MW kept staying, DR thrived, and then along came Max and that is what has complicated things on the team for the second driver…not the team itself.

          Anyway, I believe AA will be on the team through this season and next.

          1. I don’t remember Ricciardo enjoying it as much as you do, especially after he started losing the qualifying battles against Verstappen. I remember him getting increasingly frustrated at the significantly higher reliability and strategic failures that were happening on his car over Verstappens, and at Red Bull’s handling of their coming together. Kvyat certainly crashed, but he wasn’t bad at all – removing him so hastily may look good in the sense Verstappen immediately paid off but Kvyat could have used more time. Gasly was woeful in his Red Bull stint but has been good since – but there’s no guarantee of success if he moved back to the main team.

            This ‘plug and play’ concept of finding a good driver isn’t positive for those driver’s mental wellbeing. You burn up support, burn up good will, burn up respect and trust and then you have a team that is controlled by fear of losing their seat than doing well within it. At that, Red Bull themselves have said they have hobbled Albon as his car’s made up of bits of different concepts, and rarely has had parity machinery with Verstappen. Would Gasly really expect anything else?

            Also it’s currently obvious that AlphaTauri/Toro Rosso got more out of Albon, Kvyat & now Gasly than the main squad has. That to me suggests the atmosphere at the sister outfit is stronger and more supportive than Red Bull’s, and if Red Bull want a decent “number 2” they’d do better on helping that number 2 achieve it than they are.

          2. @rocketpanda I’m sure where we differ is that I’m sure no driver would enjoy the unreliability DR happened to have in 2018, but I don’t ascribe said issues as a conspiracy against DR. I just don’t believe for one second that RBR sabotages one driver’s car or strategies, particularly when they aren’t fighting for the Championships and don’t need to see that one driver gets the bulk of the points so as not to split them against a title contender. You seem to think they deliberately scuppered DR and I don’t.

            I think you need to clarify this concept you speak of of hobbling Albon with a car made up of bits of concepts. Please provide a quote from where you got this and I’m quite confident the context will be that it is in an effort to sort Albon out and find best setups for him, but not as you are trying to make it sound like they are intentionally hobbling him with secondary treatment. Why would they do that? Max doesn’t need the help. He’s blindingly fast all on his own. He doesn’t need a hobbled Albon, Gasly, nor DR to make himself look better, nor
            does the team need a hobbled teammate to Max.

            I suggest that the reason drivers can appear to excel at AT/TR is that they are no longer under the pressure of being on a top team, and a top team with Max of all people at that. The top three teams is where the pressure is always going to be at it’s greatest and it not meant as a training ground, although DR’s shock leaving has forced RBR’s hand into making it be one for now.

            I have yet to hear anything from DR that would support some conspiracy against him, some lesser car or treatment. He was part of the family and they wanted him to stay. He said at the time it was the hardest decision he’s ever made. That sound like someone happy to leave a place he was being conspired against? If RBR acted as you suggest, how was he ‘allowed’ to better their 4 time WDC SV in 2014? Doesn’t the fact that he did outpoint SV show that RBR doesn’t conspire on behalf of even a WDC on their team? The stuff going on over the last few years is just from DR leaving and another driver of his level not being available, but not from some plan to put Max on a pedestal that he can mount all on his own, no matter his teammate.

          3. Having to reply to an earlier message.

            Literally google Marko talking about Albon’s car being different. He literally says Albon has not started with the same equipment in most races. That during practice he’s been confronted with many different suspension settings. There’s been articles on this actual website of Red Bull saying Albon’s ‘gap’ is exaggerated by the car. This isn’t difficult information to find. I wouldn’t say they have deliberately sought out to hobble him, but they themselves are saying he’s often not had equal machinery. If Gasly returned to that seat then he’d get similar treatment.

            Also I’m not suggesting a conspiracy against Ricciardo, or even the second car – but whoever is in the ‘second car’ has often suffered worse reliability and worse strategies. Maybe it’s bad luck, but that’s a lot of bad luck for the other car the ‘lead’ one rarely gets. You could aim the same criticism at Ferrari – that whoever isn’t favoured by the team tends to get poorer treatment. I’d like to think that isn’t whats happening at Red Bull.

            The point I’ve mainly been trying to make is that Red Bull is not really a mentally healthy place for people, especially if they’re faced with the threat of being axed if considered to be underperforming. Obviously AT/TR is a lower pressure environment, but if you’re going to shove a guy with barely any F1 experience into a front running team you can’t expect that person to be 100% on the pace of the frontrunners immediately.

          4. @rocketpanda Thank you for the reference as I indeed have now read Marko’s words. I’m actually encouraged on Albon’s behalf as the circumstances with the pandemic and the numbers of back to back races has made it extra unique for AA. I’m sure with that in mind they are being patient with him with understanding of how it has to be for now. They’ll plug away and sort themselves out.

          5. Onto the red bull number 1-2 subject, I would remind you, especially Adam ofc, who seemed to be more on the “verstappen has better reliability”, that verstappen has had plenty of issues and example in 2017 was much less lucky than ricciardo, and in 2018 the situation reversed, but we can’t really say red bull was a particularly reliable car these last few years, luck comes and goes.

      2. Hence why I’m saying let him 4 races in RBR to compare him to Verstappen and compare Albon to Gasly. Then let Gasly 4 races in same car to see if there is any change. There are 9 races left. So all three could be compared in same car before judging who to leave for Tsunoda.

    4. Jose Lopes da Silva
      8th September 2020, 17:28

      Dude, look at Johansson. Look at Keke Rosberg. Even look at how Lauda’s luck and performance dipped. That 2nd car at McLaren-TAG Porsche’s cursed. At the moment you, Ayrton Senna, have a team that are actually pushing and supporting you and you want to leave it to go to one that is centered around one car? McLaren seriously need to look at the atmosphere they have in their team because they are unable to get the most out of two drivers and the 2nd car is permenantly hobbled (…)

      1. Jose Lopes da Silva, not a great analogy, given that Johansson wasn’t actually that far behind Prost in 1987 – moreover, both Johansson and McLaren signed that deal for 1987 with the intention of parting ways at the end of the year, with McLaren negotiating with Piquet and then Senna, whilst Johansson was angling for a seat at Williams.
        Furthermore, Senna wasn’t actually originally wanted by McLaren – their initial preference had been for Nelson Piquet, and it was Prost who suggested Senna instead

    5. And look at Webber many years back … So you are right ! It is not in Redbull’s interest to have anyone pit against his N. 1 driver.

  3. Nell (@imabouttogoham)
    8th September 2020, 13:02

    Sounds like another shot taken at Albon – the dude is a punching bag right now.

    1. How the tables have turned. And so quickly too.

    2. geoffgroom44 (@)
      9th September 2020, 9:08

      Alex has been a punching bag for some time. I was amazed that my ‘hero’ Lewis also joined in with some sideways gossip (perhaps trying to find a spot for his old mate Seb).
      However, the schoolboy long buried deep within me, seems to recall some appropriate words:
      “If you can keep your head when all about you
      Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
      If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
      But make allowance for their doubting too;

      If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
      Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
      Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,
      And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise” Rudyard

      Beware the man that builds his knowledge base before taking action.

      1. I don’t think Hamiltons comment was aimed at Albon, many people seem to have this impression, he didn’t explicitly say Albon needs to up his game, he said Redbull need their 2nd driver in the mix. I think it was a dig at Redbull for always using their number 2’s as test dummies for Verstappen (putting them on alternate strategies, usually to their detriment, for the sake of trying to see if it will help Verstappen swipe a result from the Mercs. That’s why Horner recently had a dig back saying Merc favour Hamilton over Bottas, which we all know is nonsense, out of all the teams on the grid, Merc go out of their way to give both drivers equal equipment and opportunity.

  4. Will he follow the last Toro Rosso winner to became four times champion or will he follow the last French driver winner and never winning any race after?

    Will Marko follow Hamilton recommendation again and will Hamilton kept ruining Gasly chances after?

  5. As much as I’ve been massively impressed by him this season, what’s really the best possible outcome with a return to Red Bull, I mean in reality? Probably perform better than Albon, maybe get to the stage that Danny Ric and Max were at, where he is the only slightly the less preferred driver? I think with his stock so high at the moment, it’d be interesting to see what his contract situation is and what options there are in a year or two? The problem with that is F1 is a fickle business and in 9 months he’s been eclipsed by someone else, I hope not for his sake.

    1. Gasly contract with AlphaTauri expires at the end of this year. So he still have no seat for next year. He should called Wolff to connect him to Stroll Sr. ASAP.

  6. I don’t know why you’d want to switch to Red Bull man… Talk to Mateschitz himself and tell him to give equal resources to the two teams. Get Torro Rosso to go with low rake while Red Bull continues with high rake. He deserves it, Franz Tost deserves it, it should be done.

    1. @skipgamer But thats not how they run it TR/AT are Redbulls development team, they helped set up the Honda PU for RB prior to the swap, it’s also part of their junior driver program.

      1. Everything changes eventually, what better time than now… That Gasly can drive so well yet got decimated by Verstappen so handily points to it not being an optimal balance.

        Running one junior in each team along with one senior driver who the car is built around shouldn’t be so outlandish, in fact, I fail to see the down side.

    2. @skipgamer I was wondering if the budget cap would not have that sort of effect anyway. Red Bull will need to redistribute their people across the two teams and the budget of Red Bull alone would probably be enough to run both teams under the budget cap conditions. So why not run both at the budget cap and have two teams with equal budgets.

      To be honest the budget cap probably will just mean that budgets gradually come down to where all teams run at half the current budget, but the same (relative) budget disparitiy remains.

  7. Verstappen in the post race interview on sky he had a slight shot at Albon, also at Belgian Sky showed Marko having a chat with Gasly just before race start. Small things but they add up, so yeah I think a change has been in the works for a little while and is about to happen.

    1. @johnrkh I saw the brief footage of that chat on the grid in Belgium as it was the live world feed footage. I don’t think a change is going to happen during this season anymore. More likely, it’d happen for next season if it were to happen.
      BTW, when did he take a slight shot at his teammate? I listened to his post-race interview for Sky, but didn’t notice anything along the lines of that.

      1. @jerejj Verstappen was throwing everybody under the bus, the team the designers, the engine. It’s hard to follow if he forgot some people

      2. @jerejj It was from a Dutch interview I mixed up don’t ask me how.

        Albon came ninth Saturday afternoon and afterwards said that this was a good qualifiying. When Verstappen talks to the Dutch press about that statement, he says: “Yes, well. Then you’re ninth. I don’t know. If that makes you happy… ”
        Verstappen had said something else

        The nine-time Grand Prix winner doesn’t find the timing of his 24-year-old teammate very convenient, although he then stresses that it’s none of his business. “If I was ninth, I wouldn’t said that it would have been a good qualification. That’s not up to me in the end either. I just focus on myself. I’m just not satisfied with the balance we have”, concludes Verstappen.

        1. @johnrkh Lol. A predictable desperate shot at Max/RBR that you somehow mixed up, but don’t ask how wink wink, lol. I know how. You’re desperate such that you constantly and consistently go to tabloid level nonsense to make an erroneous point. It’s akin to misquoting people entirely, or putting words in their mouths with quotation marks but no accuracy, and without context. Sorry but faking the news doesn’t fool anybody. I’m sure that won’t stop you going forward though as you seem to have yourself fooled which is enough. But go ahead…from now on rely on texted rough English translations from Dutch interviews that are inaccurate and don’t reveal tone or nuance to the words being spoken. You hang your hat on that…for 15 more years.

          1. @robbie Catch you later robbie you have a good day eh :)

          2. @johnrkh Thanks and you too;)

        2. Max is such a bitch

  8. Gasly seems happy where he is and a happy driver is a quick driver. At Red Bull he’d be number 2 and then get grumpy. It would disrupt 2 teams and two drivers in a disrupted season and just seems a daft idea, so I expect it will happen soon…

  9. Richard Cantelo (@)
    8th September 2020, 14:01

    Maybe at some point in the future; but not now!

  10. Steady on Gassy – you got a lucky win – don’t start making enemies yet!

  11. it is amusing how people make up stories that RB is favouring Verstappen. It’s a hypothesis, albeit a weird one. RB have actually more than 1 motivation to get the 2nd driver as close to Verstappen as possible:
    – it gives them tactical options in the race
    – it puts pressure on Verstappen. Which keeps the driver on his toes, and reduces the (political) dependency the team has on Verstappen.
    – money , aka championship points (this year 2nd position in WCC seems guaranteed, but still)

    DanRic had the same car and support, Gasly had, and Albon has it this year.
    Maybe the real hypothesis here is: ‘Max is a generational talent, has matured after a steep learning curve in his teenager years (DanRic could barely beat him in their first year while he was the settled-in driver), and anyone on the grid (bar Hamilton and Leclerc) would find themselves 0.3s adrift’

    1. @trib4udi It’s amusing how people pretending there is no favouring of Verstappen always come up with the same false arguments. it’s not about purposefully holding Albon back, but about giving Verstappen preference in strategy, car design direction, newer parts first etc etc.

      Ricciardo had the same support until 2018 and he was doing fine against Verstappen. Then look what happened. He barely drove a lap after telling Red Bull he was leaving.

      1. Just a quick FYI, the teammate ahead in points, qualifying and the driver ahead after turn 1 usually gets the better strategy, gets upgrades first and is likely the guy who the car is developed around. Does this make sense to you? If not then you should take over at Ferrari, you’d fit right in.

      2. Max fans are always gonna forget this and think max is a god

        1. Coming from you Carlos all I can do is laugh.

  12. Would he really want to go to Red Bull though? Knowing how he was treated there last time around?

    1. That was my thought as well. From the outside, his time at Red Bull looked absolutely horrid!

  13. If he drives for them again, he’s not a smart man.

  14. We all know that Gasly is ready but the real question is Red Bull ready to support anybody else than Verstappen. If they keep going like this Gasly will have the same deja vu from a previous visit to that team. Unless he performs in such level that he can sometimes match Verstappen which is highly unlikely.

  15. A win is a win but let’s not get too carried away here. Gasly is driving well but his win was extremely lucky with how it played out and a move to Red Bull on his part would it could be the end of his F1 career if he can’t match Verstappen. Albon let’s not forget doesn’t get lapped by Max every other race.

    1. geoffgroom44 (@)
      9th September 2020, 8:58

      excellent comment.totally agree

  16. Just a week ago: “Dan Ticktum says his first Formula 2 victory “proves his doubt in me wrong”, a reference to Helmut Marko dropping him from Red Bull’s junior programme.” Lubricate the revolving doors at RB!

    1. Yes, but Dan Ticktum is a liability as a person – even if he is a talented driver.

  17. I read an interview post race in which Gasly said words to the effect that he knows what his issue was at RBR but that he won’t discuss it. So unless he now knows the solution to that issue I don’t see why he would go back to repeat a career near-death experience. I guess it could have also solved itself, but it seems that Albon may not agree.

    There is a lot of talk about RBR having a poor environment. And you can go all the way back to Scott Speed to see that. But I think right now the issue is that the midfield is so packed up that if you need to be on your very best game to qualify .3s from a top driver, which is respectable for any non Hamilton/Verstappen/Leclerc driver right now, you are often going to be mired in the pack of cars with RP/McLaren/AT that you cannot just breeze past while in an RBR. And when you are in the scrum you have the usual issues—losing aero bits in contact, compromised tire strategy, queuing at safety car stops—that lead to you finishing 30 seconds behind the first car and the internet getting the knives out for you.

    1. Ahah, good comment, indeed, I’d also say hamilton, verstappen and leclerc are the 3 top drivers, there could be more but they haven’t proven to be at their level since they never got a top car to compare with proven drivers, and yes, things changed since last year, red bull can no longer easily overtake those cars and no longer has an insurmontable advantage, which can let you get stuck in traffic if you don’t perform at the top level.

  18. Despite redbull being in general the 2nd best care, I wonder if he’s better off joining the non redbull ranks at the end of this season

    1. Car, not care

  19. I would like to see Gasly get another shot at Red Bull. But the Car is a Wild Animal and seems to be a pain to drive. Red Bull has admitted that their Cars are extremely difficult to drive and currently really only favor Max’s driving style. And even he struggles with it at times.
    Personally, I would say Gasly should bide his time at Alpha Tauri for next season and get a deal in place for 2022 at a bigger/better team when the new regs come around. He needs to be smart about his future. Not make premature decisions like Ricciardo (his move to Renault) or Sainz (to Ferrari) just to make a step backwards on the Grid. That said, the same can happen at Red Bull. But he has something, none of the other Red Bull Drivers (except Vettel and Couldthart) had prior to driving at Red Bull. A Win. And with that, he should be able to position himself in a better spot going forward.
    Red Bull have to think good and hard about how to deal with Gasly, because if they don’t take care of him, someone else will snap him up. Mercedes will surely go with Russel in the near future, but what if Hamilton decides to leave sooner, rather than later (I doubt it though).

    Now….that said…. Kvyat had his chances and he should make way for a new driver (Tsunoda if he finishes high enough in F2 or someone else outside the Red Bull Junior Driver system)
    Albon…. I like him, but needs to show more in the near future. he gets outraced regularly by cars that started behind him either finishing in the same position that he started or falling back. He should however consistently finish in the top 4 or 5. He only managed to finish top 5 three times so far (yes he should have finished high at the first race prior to being spun out by Hamilton) but was beaten by Stroll in Hungary, several slower cars at the British GP (including Leclerc), Leclerc again at the 70th Anniversary race, Several cars again (including Vettel) in Spain and again in Belgium.
    In Monza, he had damage! However, finishing that far down…. Not good for him and is Stock.

  20. Did he say “I’m ready for Red Bull return”, or was he saying he’s ready to return to a top team? I really think going back to Red Bull right now would be bad for his career, and probably not much help to Red Bull either. If he returns there for next season, by this time next year we’ll probably be having the same discussions that we’re having about Albon right now – wondering why there’s such a big difference in performance between Max and the other driver. Obviously Max is very fast, but the team also hasn’t been able to get the best out of their other drivers, and it doesn’t seem they have a solution to that yet.

    Gasly would be better to stay put, build his reputation by putting in strong performances at Alpha Tauri, and wait for opportunities in the future. Either a move to a team outside the Red Bull family, or maybe consider Red Bull if Max moves on (if it’s an option at that point).

  21. He should do a “CSnz Jr” and ask to be released. There are people interested, for sure.
    To share Red Bull with Verstappen looks like professional suicide these days.

  22. It has become evident that RB pulled the trigger on Gasly too soon last year. However, they would be unwise to make the same mistake with Albon. Many fail to take into account, that Max is a BEAST. He is the best driver on the grid, and would send Lewis on a trail of tears if he had a car that could realistically equal the Merc. That said, even Max wasn’t a beast from day one, he needed time to develop.

    I’m a fan of Alex and want to see him succeed, but even so I think his weekend at Monza did not help his cause. Though he did ultimately qualify fairly close to Max’s time, not one but TWO deleted lap times for track limits plus the race performance was simply not good.

    But can you imagine the fiery inferno that 2nd RB seat must be? To instantly feel that heat the moment you sit down? The media and other drivers constantly questioning you?

    I think he, like many, simply needs to taste a bit of success to become confident and unlock his potential. Here’s hoping he has a good weekend and a nice race result soon.

    1. geoffgroom44 (@)
      9th September 2020, 8:56

      +1

    2. Lewis reduced a certain 2 times WDC to powder.

      Max is not proven and Lewis will send him to retirement before even knows what winning a wdc is like for max.

  23. “When I get the right tools in my hand“ Yup you ain’t gonna find those tools in the red bull number 2 car

  24. Everybody seems to miss the point

    Without CharleyClerks crash and moments later Hamilton’s lights issue Gasly would still be just another dreamer. No one on a Earth ever thought that he would win the race based on the reality of their performance against the Mercedes.

    So it’s a complete fluke and my guess is we won’t see much from Gasly, in the form of results from his team, for the remainder of the season.

    I’d put $10m on Gasly NOT winning again in his F1 Car, this season.

    1. Could make a case for him not winning another f1 race ever I guess.

  25. I think Gasly would be better off staying at AT for another year and then seeing what opportunities arise at other teams in 2022.

    He has more experience now and I am sure he thinks he is more ready. However, I suspect the outcome would be pretty similar although I think he would do a bit better relative to Max. The RB team is now built around Max’s needs and opinions though so I doubt anyone in the second seat is going to prosper very much. I think Pierre would be better off concentrating on his season, getting the best out of his car and biding his time to see what other opportunities arise.

  26. “Obviously I guess the strong results should be rewarded with something but we will see what happens.”

    He said this, wow, luck should be rewarded with a red bull seat? I don’t think he did anything special, if there’s a reason to put him on red bull is to see if maybe he learnt how to drive a “top” car and cause albon should really really go, no matter who replaces him.

  27. Based on this race?

    You won’t get a free pass every weekend.

    1. geoffgroom44 (@)
      9th September 2020, 8:53

      +1

  28. geoffgroom44 (@)
    9th September 2020, 8:52

    I like PG.Really. But one swallow does not a summer make,huh?
    and as for this ‘frenzy’ about pulling the mat from under Alex Albon,well, I am very interested in the definition of sportsmanship that some people have. I also get continually perturbed by the statistical dishonesty employed by some to discredit Alex by comparing his first full year at RB with Max’s 4th ?, 5th?
    Rookie of the year last year, some astounding, breathtaking,much admired overtakes this year in an unequal car and with, as Jolyon Palmer has observed, some rather peculiar strategy calls.
    But then, it’s easier to make personal attacks than it is to see the underlying reasons, don’t you think?
    Personally, I have respect for Alex’s racecraft, his patience and determination… and am willing to give him a sporting chance instead of dismissing him and pretending that some other wannabee’s are a miracle replacement.

    1. Whilst I agree that Albon has shown some good racecraft and overtaking, and that he has been given poor strategy calls on more than one occasion, it can’t explain away the underlying performance difference between himself and Max.

      No doubt the car is difficult to drive and has been built around Max. It’s unlikely anyone but the very best could match him in that car. But Albon is just not close enough. If Gasly was removed for the gap in performance to Max, then Albon has to be under similar threat.

      As to whether it’s a good idea for Gasly to replace Albon, that’s a very different question. There’s certainly no guarantee he wouldn’t just repeat the same trajectory as he showed the first time round in Red Bull. It may be better for his career for him to find a “step up” in another team, when the opportunity presents itself. I think the current Red Bull, right now, might need a more experienced and battle-hardened driver than either of them (even if no more talented than either of them).

      I’d quite like to see what someone like Hulkenberg could do in the Red Bull. He has no drive, so he has nothing to lose, unlike the others.

      1. geoffgroom44 (@)
        9th September 2020, 19:00

        One of the nice things about watching live timings is that one can see more clearly the relative performances. Last weekend, FP1, Albon finished .141 ahead of Max.FP2 Albon .3 behind max. FP3 Albon .1+7 behind Max. This kind of suggests to me that Albon is starting to get to grips with the car…or Max is starting to lose his grip. So how close does he need to be to justify his seat?

        1. geoffgroom44 (@)
          9th September 2020, 19:01

          1+7=107

          1. geoffgroom44 (@)
            9th September 2020, 19:04

            “Albon let’s not forget doesn’t get lapped by Max every other race”.Josh (@canadianjosh) wrote above. I presume he means that Gasly did, huh?

  29. Both Gasly and Albon have the same problem in that they tend to be between 3-6 tenths off Verstappen in Qualifying. The difference is that Gasly didn’t tend to move forward in the race. He couldn’t seem to overtake the car in front where as Albon does.

    1. @asanator True. In a car that sometimes Max struggles in too. And Gasly was there when Ferrari were much stronger and there may have been more pressure as there was a fight for 2nd in the Constructors and therefore big $ to consider. This year RBR sit in a lone 2nd, impossible to touch Mercedes but unlikely they’ll be surpassed either, as Renault, Mac, RP, Ferrari, Alpha Tauri…well basically everyone else splits the mid-field points. So in that sense AA may have more time and patience from the team that they couldn’t afford for Gasly.

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