Where does Pierre Gasly go from here?
Column
Last season Pierre Gasly stood out as one of the most impressive young drivers. He was fast. A fourth position at the Bahrain Grand Prix confirmed this and it seemed that Formula 1 had another exciting talent to look forward to watching for the next few years. Finishing the season with five Grand Prix points finishes it was the perfect season to build on as the youngster continued to develop.
Then came the news that Daniel Ricciardo would be leaving Red Bull and this seemed to shock the team as there was no natural driver in the teams set up to take over from the Aussie.
Up steps Gasly in his second season in Formula 1 to one of the sports biggest teams. With the heavily applauded Max Verstappen as his teammate, it was always going to be hard for the Frenchman to impress and so far he is still struggling.
Gasly has been beaten by his teammate at every single Grand Prix so far this season and is obviously struggling to perform in the car. Not only is he struggling to keep up with his teammate but he is finding it hard to keep the likes of McLaren and Renault behind him.
Often Gasly is fighting in the midfield battle and he often struggles to win it. This leads to the obvious question, was Gasly pushed into a top seat too quickly?
This is a hard question to answer as Charles Leclerc, who is also in his second Formula 1 season, has driven incredibly well for Ferrari. However, with the benefit of hindsight, it would be hard to disagree with the opinion that a second season at Toro Rosso would have been best for Gasly.
What Gasly fans will be wondering now is what happens next? Red Bull have said that they will continue to back Gasly but it is not hard to imagine that he will be kicked out of the team for next season.
Where will he go from here? Will Toro Rosso take him back? Will Red Bull keep him on? No other top team will take him surely?
This is the problem with Formula 1. Talent is so easily lost. If Gasly had been given time to develop at Toro Rosso for another season or two then who knows how well he could have performed at a top team. Now it seems likely that he will lose his seat and the option to drive for another top team.