Pressure is mounting on Pierre Gasly after Dr Helmut Marko verified there was nothing wrong with the Frenchman's car.
GPToday.net confirmed just under two weeks ago that Red Bull would dismantle Gasly's car after the Austrian Grand Prix to establish if there was an issue with it.
MORE: Horner: Gasly needs a reset to turn around struggles | Overcoming Red Bull struggles will make me a more complete driver - Gasly
However, Red Bull found nothing amiss with the chassis, and is now focused on getting Gasly up to speed at the energy drink squad.
"We completely disassembled his RB15 and came to the conclusion that nothing is wrong," Marko told Motorsport-Total.com. "We are now going to help him as best we can and he will be driving with Max Verstappen's set-up from the next Grand Prix.
"Max has more experience and therefore he knows very well what is and is not possible with this car. Sometimes Max's experiments go wrong, but he does have the ability to get everything right in the end.
"Pierre, on the other hand, has gone wrong since the beginning of the season. Two hits in Barcelona at the worst possible moment. He has done some solid races here and there in the open air, but the overall picture is still missing", Marko said.
Gasly brings good memories to the British Grand Prix this weekend, as he won the 2016 GP2 Feature Race around the Silverstone Circuit.
"I had a GP2 victory at Silverstone just after a road car accident with my family on the way to the track, so it’s a special weekend that I always remember and I’m really happy to return this year with Red Bull.
"It’s usually a pretty cool atmosphere with all the British fans coming out to support. I remember last year was my first British Grand Prix in F1 and I was impressed with the amount of people attending over the weekend."
The Frenchman says he is focusing on improving "every detail" in order to produce the pace the car is capable of.
"Following Austria, we’re working and focusing on every detail and we will try to put all the pieces together to extract and deliver a better result this weekend. I’m excited to get back out there and go racing.”
Replies (9)
Login to replyajpennypacker
Posts: 2,475
Yeah... I didn't think the covering up for Pierre would last long. Alas, he's now been outed by his own team and ignominious fashion. I would even say that there is a slim chance that this is the last race for Pierre in a Red Bull car and that he'd be demoted and replaced with Kvyat
calle.itw
Posts: 8,527
It's for the better probably. It's tough being in the RB limelight, and he isn't cutting it.
xoya
Posts: 583
Here we go. "Barber's final attempt to make a face out of an ass", bluntly translated from my native tongue.
calle.itw
Posts: 8,527
I get the feeling I might have to use this saying. :D
mcbhargav
Posts: 1,332
I genuinely hoped for a tough fight between Max and Gasly when he was promoted. A better package should have been exploited by Gasly. Its next to impossible to come back from this. But, again, Kvyat proved me wrong time and again.
boudy
Posts: 1,168
You can see it more than one way, the issue is that Gasly hasn't been able to come close to Verstappen nor is able to sustain a prolonged attack on him. Not quick enough over one lap which is easier than staying with him during race conditions. Not sure if they would replace him with either STR driver.
If you look on the market, if Renault don't sign Hulkenberg he might be a good fit. Others are Perez, Bo
boudy
Posts: 1,168
If you look on the market, if Renault don't sign Hulkenberg he might be a good fit. Others are Perez, Bottas and even Ocon.
mcbhargav
Posts: 1,332
Hard to get either of them from Merc. Perhaps Diktum to TR, Albon to RB.
Ram Samartha
Posts: 1,172
It was just too soon for him. They never should have moved him as a knee-jerk reaction of Ricciardo leaving.