Will Marko give Gasly second chance at Red Bull? 'We don't want to lose him'
F1 News
- GPblog.com
Twelve races lasted his adventure at Red Bull Racing, but during the summer break in 2019 Pierre Gasly was unceremoniously transferred back to Toro Rosso. At Red Bull's sister team, the Frenchman had a great revival and even won the Italian Grand Prix in 2020. Will he get a second chance at the top team?
Red Bull doesn't want to lose Gasly
Max Verstappen is still at Red Bull for the time being. The Dutchman recently signed an extension up to and including 2028. Who will get the other seat at Red Bull in the coming years is not yet clear. Sergio Perez, Verstappen's current teammate, has a contract that expires after this season. So whether Gasly will be able to secure a seat at Red Bull again in 2023 is unclear, but Helmut Marko would rather not lose the Frenchman.
In an interview with Formel1.de Marko let it be known that he certainly does not exclude a second chance for Gasly at Red Bull. Moreover, he is aware that Red Bull will probably lose the AlphaTauri driver if his contract expires and they cannot offer him a promotion. That's something Red Bull doesn't want.
Gasly compared with Perez
Gerhard Berger, former Formula 1 driver and confidant of Marko, also argued in favor of giving Gasly a second chance at Red Bull. He believes Gasly is good enough for it. Marko agrees with Berger, but doesn't want to discount Perez either. Marko says that the performance of both drivers will be compared and that Red Bull still has until the summer to decide.
Perez had a reasonable start to the season so far. In Bahrain he crashed out while lying fourth. In Saudi Arabia, the Mexican grabbed his first pole position. An unfortunate virtual safety car cost him the lead in the race, but picked up important points for the team with fourth place. Gasly crashed out in Bahrain and finished eighth in Saudi Arabia.