Pierre Gasly reflects on his mid-season dismissal from Red Bull, explaining that he believed the decision was incorrect.
After making the switch away from the Red Bull set-up, Pierre Gasly is quietly putting together a strong campaign in 2023. The Frenchman is a regular point-scorer for Alpine, adjusting very quickly to the A523 and a new team.
His podium finish in Zandvoort will likely be the highlight of his season, though he will be intent on securing more accolades for Team Enstone.
As it stands, Alpine is in a state of stagnation. They have spent several seasons firmly in the midfield, only grabbing occasional podiums when very specific circumstances arise. There have been signs of promise this year, but the gap to the front-runners is still significant.
In the long term, there are questions about whether they can become contenders at the front. This was a heavily discussed issue when Gasly first signed with the French outfit last season. After all, his position at AlphaTauri put him under consideration (at least in theory) for a Red Bull drive.
However, since being replaced by the team in 2019, there never seemed much enthusiasm about giving Gasly another opportunity. Whilst Red Bull was happy to keep him as a reference at AlphaTauri, the 27-year-old never seemed a realistic candidate to partner Max Verstappen a second time.
Gasly describes “unfair” Red Bull dismissal
Reflecting on this spell, Gasly explained he would be open to discussing the reasons for his dismissal:
“No, I hope one day we get the chance to. But I know, deep inside, they’re smart people,” he said on the Beyond The Grid Podcast.
“They might have their own opinions on certain things, but there are clear things which were obvious.
“It’s the way that it was, it wasn’t really fair. But anyway, that’s the sport and I’ve learned as well that this sport is not always fair.
“I really closed the chapter when I left AlphaTauri and opened a brand-new story with Alpine.
“I think I’ve reached a level of experience, skills and mindfulness right now, which thanks to my previous experiences, allows me to be better today than I was yesterday.”
At the time, there was a clear discrepancy between the Red Bull pairing. Gasly was lapped on a few occasions – whilst showing a general inability to match the efforts of Max Verstappen. In hindsight, this is something many teammates have encountered against the Dutchman.
Daniel Ricciardo is the last teammate to hold his own against the 3-time Champion. In any case, several factors contributed to Gasly’s dismissal. Inexperience can be named as one of the biggest influences.
Regardless, the Alpine driver can be relatively pleased with his success in Formula 1. He already boasts a race win and several podiums to his name and enjoys relative security with Alpine.
