Red Bull place Gasly in GP2
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Pierre Gasly will race for Caterham in the final six races of the GP2 championship at Monza, Sochi and Yas Marina. He will take the seat alongside Rio Haryanto which was originally occupied by Alexander Rossi and later Tom Dillmann.
Gasly, the reigning Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup champion, has been racing in Formula Renault 3.5 this year. He is currently fourth in the series behind fellow Red Bull development driver Carlos Sainz Jnr as well as Roberto Mehri and Oliver Rowland (who Gasly beat to the two litre crown last year).
There’s no indication his GP2 duties will replace his FR3.5 commitments, and none of the remaining rounds in the two championships clash.
http://www.gp2series.com/News-Room/News/2014/09_September/Gasly-to-join-Caterham-Racing/
I think that this is a good move. Gasly has shown excellent speed at times this year and getting as much track time can only be a good thing for him. With the GP2 series really hotting up, Gasly could snatch the odd podium if title contenders and other frontrunners trip up over each other…
It also shows that Red Bull are really backing him… if Vettel does move on, who’s to say that Gasly will not be the one promoted to F1, behind Verstappen/Sainz?
And when was the last time that a Red Bull driver was in GP2…. Scott Speed? I agree on the track time though, and it’ll be interesting to see if he can do as well as Marciello. Maybe before the end of the season we can see a strong run from him. But it could also be a preparation for next year? If not anything more than an opportunity taken by Marko to run the rest of the season (Dillmann was probably on borrowed time in that seat).
@fastiesty Dillmann has other commitments.
I had to make a choice and I won't be able to race GP2 in Monza. I will race in Magny-Cours in the Porsche as I look for my future.
— Tom Dillmann (@TomDillmann) August 26, 2014
Last GP2 Red Bull driver was Buemi in 2008. Thinking this could be the start of a shift in power back to GP2’s favor if 2014’s first half, or even a race like the Spa Feature wasn’t evidence of that.
Gasly and Lynn would make a top-notch driver combo in GP2 next year.
That’s definitely an odd decision. I can only imagine Red Bull want to clean up their junior programme (too many great talents), so they present Gasly with a challenge, just to see if he is as good as the other Red Bull drivers. Sadly GP2 is not an easy category and Caterham has been really disappointing this year, so I fear he will not do well. Anyway, I hope he puts the majority of his focus on FR3.5 and that he doesn’t get dumped by Red Bull at the end of the season.
Meanwhile Daly is also out at Venezuela GP Lazarus according to an email from his management (emphasis added):
American Conor Daly learned early on Tuesday morning that Venezuela GP Lazarus had replaced him for the upcoming weekend in Monza, Italy. It was not a total surprise as the team had informed him after Spa that they were in need of additional funding.
“I’m naturally disappointed but thankful for the opportunity that Venezuela GP Lazarus provided me this season,” said Daly. “Lazarus is a great team of people who race because of their love of the sport and I wish them every success in the future.”
Daly was not in a position to provide additional funding to the team and therefore had to step aside.
2014 marks the fourth season of European racing for Daly who spent three years racing in GP3, and this season in GP2. Daly won two races and stood on the podium eleven times and scored one pole in the past two years racing in GP3. He finished third in the GP3 Championship in 2013.
“Europe for the past four years has been a an invaluable experience for me,” said Daly. “It was a sacrifice well worth making because I know today that I am a better driver because of it. I’m ready for my future, whatever it may be.”
Daly attended the recent Fontana IndyCar weekend as he pursues all options for the 2015 season. “I want to be a professional race car driver and be in a position to take advantage of any opportunity that might come my way,” commented Daly.
And Dennis Olsen, who’s been very impressive in Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup this year, is tipped to get a seat:
I have good reason to believe that Norwegian driver Dennis Olsen will be racing at Monza this weekend in #GP2. Watch this space and my blog.
— Callum Rowe (@CallumRowe_) September 2, 2014
Olsen has a fantastic record in karting it seems, and is doing well in FR2.0 – GP2 might be a sponsor-driven bridge too far, though.
Daly’s F1 aspirations, what little he had with him already having a foot in the Indycar door, sunk with Lazarus. I don’t think Olsen will fare better.
@rjoconnell Is Olsen the first example of the ‘Verstappen effect’?
Also, funny to note that Olsen is not backed by an F1 team, but by Petter Solberg, the former rally driver and still the last non-Sébastien to win the WRC title.
As for Daly, I guess this will be the end of his European adventure. I hope he will find a place in IndyCar or Indy Lights instead.
Lights is definitely the most logical option for Daly, given that he’s already driven the brand new IL 15 car, though it would be nice to see an IndyCar team take a punt with him and at least give him a couple of races.
@craig-o I’d always thought that a move from GP2 -> Indy Lights like Razia made this year would be a step down. The IL-15 will be about 200hp down on the GP2/11. But then I thought, “maybe it’d be smart for some of these drivers who have little or no oval racing experience to hone their abilities in the Lights car before they get up to the Indycar Series.”
Personally, however, I think Daly is good enough to jump straight into Indycar for a full or partial season.
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