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SB83 wrote: ↑4 years ago So far from what we've seen, Gasly has either been rushed to Red Bull too soon or he's simply not that good when you have to improvise (suboptimal setup, wet weather, etc.). Either way, I think given Red Bull's record of impatience with non-performers, he will be the first to go while Gio's Italian connections will see him stick around a bit longer perhaps.

Autosport wrote:Red Bull has silenced talk that Pierre Gasly's future at the team is again in doubt and insisted he will see out the 2019 Formula 1 season.

Another difficult weekend for Gasly at the German Grand Prix, which included a crash in practice and a race-ending clash with Alex Albon, has fuelled further speculation about his position.

Gasly's situation was not helped by Toro Rosso's Daniil Kvyat producing a brilliant performance at Hockenheim to take a podium finish, underlining that Red Bull has an obvious replacement on its books if it needs one.

Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko made it clear the team is committed to Gasly for the rest of 2019 at least.

"This year we won't change," he told Autosport. "We will end the season as we currently are."

But asked if Kvyat's growing form put Gasly under pressure, Marko replied: "Sure."

Gasly insisted the Hockenheim problems were "out of context" with his recent progress with the RB15 car.

Following a season-best weekend at Silverstone, Gasly qualified fourth at Hockenheim and had recorded a best lap just a tenth off team-mate Max Verstappen before it was chalked off for a track limits infringement.

But while Verstappen went on to win the chaotic race, Gasly never fully recovered from huge wheelspin at the start and a delay on his opening pitstop, and was only fighting for sixth when he tagged Albon.

"I'm just focusing on my job, performing and getting the max out of the car," Gasly said.

"And then for sure there are things to improve, with the team together. I think we are clearly making the step.

"I'm really happy with the way we are working with the team and the improvement we are doing. Just need to keep pushing in that and together we're going to get the result we deserve."

Asked if his progress had been substantial enough, he replied: "I think so. In qualifying, I got my lap time deleted but I was a few hundredths from second place, at Silverstone I was fighting a bit more to the front.

"[The Hockenheim race] was out of context but I feel that we are clearly making some big steps.

"So I'm confident it's going to pay off more consistently soon."

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner expressed some frustration at the points lost in the late collision with Albon.

"It was up and down," said Horner about Gasly's weekend.

"He had a good qualifying, but then he had a difficult first pitstop - there was a problem with the right rear wheelnut. And then they had to hold him because the whole queue of cars came in.

"He started recovering, and on the last restart he passed [Sebastian] Vettel. But then he went wide on three consecutive laps at Turn 1, and that's where the other cars got past him.

"Then obviously racing with Albon, they tripped over each other, which was frustrating because it was a good opportunity to take a lot of points out of Ferrari. So instead of taking 20-odd points out of them, we've only taken seven or eight."

Horner suggested Red Bull needed Gasly to start providing more points if it was to have any hope of overhauling Ferrari for second in the constructors' championship.

The gap between the two teams is now 44 points, and Horner believes Red Bull can overcome that deficit "if we start double scoring".

ReneLotus wrote: ↑4 years ago Gasly reminds me a bit of Ivan Capelli at Ferrari. Touted to do well, but endured a horror season and his career fizzled out shortly after.

PTRACER wrote: ↑4 years ago

ReneLotus wrote: ↑4 years ago Gasly reminds me a bit of Ivan Capelli at Ferrari. Touted to do well, but endured a horror season and his career fizzled out shortly after.

Red Bull has broken more careers than made them. Look at all those Junior drivers who raced for Toro Rosso then disappeared off the map.

EDIT: By that I mean ended up in Formula E.

PTRACER wrote: ↑4 years ago EDIT: By that I mean ended up in Formula E.

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner intimated that the Frenchman could be dropped if his performances do not improve.

“Our intention is to leave him in the car until the end of the year,” said Horner.

“But we desperately need to see him realising more of the potential of the car.”

Horner went as far as placing some of the blame for losing the race to Mercedes on the shoulders of Gasly, given that Hamilton was allowed a free pit stop which gave him fresh tyres to run down Verstappen.

“It has been a frustrating weekend for Pierre,” he declared.

“The start wasn’t great, the first lap wasn’t great, and we shouldn’t be racing Saubers (Alfa Romeos) and McLarens.

“We need him to be racing Ferraris and Mercedes, and everything we can do to try to help him do that, we will do.

“The problem is he is not in the mix at all.

“It is not like if Lewis pitted he was going to come out behind him. Both Mercedes and Red Bull had one-legged races with their team-mates out of contention.”

Bottas, who is now more than two races behind Hamilton in the championship, is also coming off-contract and Mercedes has Esteban Ocon waiting in the wings.

Ocon only lost his Racing Point ride at the end of 2018 when Lance Stroll arrived at the team which had been saved from administration by a consortium led by the latter’s father.

Everso Biggyballies wrote: ↑4 years ago Re Gasly's future Horner has indicated that Gasly is on a short string and needs to improve, even citing blame on Gasly (who finished in Hungary over a lap down on Max) for Max not winning.... I guess on the basis that Gasly was not in the mx or close enough to Lewis to have made Mercedes double think their decision to pit Lewis.

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner intimated that the Frenchman could be dropped if his performances do not improve.

“Our intention is to leave him in the car until the end of the year,” said Horner.

“But we desperately need to see him realising more of the potential of the car.”

Horner went as far as placing some of the blame for losing the race to Mercedes on the shoulders of Gasly, given that Hamilton was allowed a free pit stop which gave him fresh tyres to run down Verstappen.

“It has been a frustrating weekend for Pierre,” he declared.

“The start wasn’t great, the first lap wasn’t great, and we shouldn’t be racing Saubers (Alfa Romeos) and McLarens.

“We need him to be racing Ferraris and Mercedes, and everything we can do to try to help him do that, we will do.

“The problem is he is not in the mix at all.

“It is not like if Lewis pitted he was going to come out behind him. Both Mercedes and Red Bull had one-legged races with their team-mates out of contention.”

Bottas, who is now more than two races behind Hamilton in the championship, is also coming off-contract and Mercedes has Esteban Ocon waiting in the wings.

Ocon only lost his Racing Point ride at the end of 2018 when Lance Stroll arrived at the team which had been saved from administration by a consortium led by the latter’s father.

https://www.speedcafe.com/2019/08/07/ha ... t-to-fill/

In the article Hamilton also suggests Red Bull have a vacancy for next year, suggesting they should look at Alonso.

SB83 wrote: ↑4 years ago Is Alonso to Red Bull even an option after all the bad blood with Honda? They still seem to have it out for him, given their recent 'That's GP2 victories' after Max won Hockenheim.