Gasly suggests Tsunoda "deserves a chance" alongside Verstappen

For Sergio Perez, 2024 has been a season to forget. After starting positively and earning a two-year contract extension to stay at Red Bull Racing, multiple Q1 limitations, mistakes and crashes have all led to a disastrously disappointing season. While Verstappen sealed his fourth consecutive title, the Mexican's poor form means Red Bull look set to miss out on the constructors' title.

As a result, the future of Perez at the Austrian team is in doubt, and there is talk as to who would take that season. Tsunoda and Visa Cash App RB teammate Liam Lawson are the two obvious contenders to take that seat, but the decision on who that driver will be is still up for debate.

Gasly thinks Tsunoda deserves a chance at Red Bull

Gasly, a former teammate of Verstappen's when at Red Bull, thinks it should be Tsunoda who is deserving of the chance to drive alongside the Dutchman next season. The Frenchman was also a teammate of the Japanese driver too, and he says he has grown tremendously in recent years: "It's a tough question. I think performance-wise, he deserves a chance. He seems to have improved a lot from the moment he came [into F1]. He's been performing pretty strongly, I would say, this season and also last year, beating his teammates. From this point of view, I think, looking at the programme, Red Bull programme, it would make sense to give him a shot."

"But, at the end of the day, we know that is not only performance that comes to that decision. It's a top team. It depends on what Christian [Horner] and Helmut [Marko] want to do with it. Personally, I'd like to see him and see what he does there. But I know it's not that easy. If you ask me performance-wise, I think he deserves a chance," Gasly added.

This article was created in collaboration with Jeroen Immink 

Want more Formula 1? Then follow GPblog on our various social media channels too!

X | Instagram | Tiktok | YouTube