Pierre Gasly says that he is solely focusing on his tasks at Toro Rosso, and is not thinking about any possible future with Red Bull. The Frenchman is competing in his first full season in Formula 1, having been drafted in towards the end of the 2017 season.
The 2016 GP2 champion is yet to score his first points in F1, as Toro Rosso struggled with reliability at the back end of 2017. At the Australian Grand Prix last week, he suffered from his first DNF in F1, with his Honda engine incurring an issue on lap 13.
There are question marks over Red Bull's line-up for the 2019 season, as Daniel Ricciardo weighs up his options for his future. If he departs, Gasly would be a prime candidate to replace him, as would Renault's Carlos Sainz, who is on loan from Red Bull.
Gasly admits that a seat at Red Bull is his goal for the future, but knows that Sainz is a more viable option at the moment due to his experience: "Carlos [Sainz] has more experience than me at the moment but it’s clear that my target is to be at Red Bull in the future.
"Hopefully sooner than later, but I need to show to Red Bull that I’m fast, I’m consistent to have a shot if I do a good job. But my focus now is with Toro Rosso and trying to do the best I can for this team," he added.
Fergal Walsh
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Replies (7)
Login to replyajpennypacker
Posts: 2,475
Interesting, I remember him talking about the switch to Red Bull just over a week ago. I guess that's the effect of an unreliable Honda.
calle.itw
Posts: 8,527
Alternatively just the effect of being a Red Bull driver period.
f1fan0101
Posts: 1,804
I cant see him ever ending up at Red Bull. Honda will buy out Toro Rosso before then
calle.itw
Posts: 8,527
Its an interesting prospect isnt it? Mind, if they do, I think they will be more likely to put their own drivers there. Its not like Honda are low on options in that regard.
ajpennypacker
Posts: 2,475
I would be delighted to see Toro Rosso get a real chance to be competitive. Honda is taking a while, but I do think eventually they will get it right.
calle.itw
Posts: 8,527
I think so too, but hoping wont get us far. I suppose thats why I like them though: a bit slow, almost at the brink of retarded, but once at it they are actually quite brilliant.
Now, as much as I'd like to see Honda return as a full manufacturer, I dont think that'll happen. It isnt unlikely, Honda has had a resurgence in motorsport as of late, but traditionally speaking they've often settled for being just a supplier. And as much RB talk about the woes of having two teams in F1, I dont see them selling of STR anytime soon. The raw amount of additional data, along with experiments like their Honda partnership, shouldnt be underestimated.
juju_hound
Posts: 180
It seems Helmut made a small chat with him after his last comments to replace Ricciardo :D