Red Bull has announced that GP2 Series racer Pierre Gasly will serve as the team’s official reserve driver until the end of the 2015 season.
The Frenchman, who was already in attendance at Singapore and Suzuka, first sampled an F1 car in the post-Spanish Grand Prix session when he drove for both Toro Rosso and Red Bull. The 19-year-old was then handed another day of running in the Renault-powered RB11 during the second in-season test held in Austria last June.
Gasly won the 2013 Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0-litre championship before finishing runner-up in Formula Renault 3.5 Series the following year. The Normandy-born racer then graduated to GP2 Series with multiple title-winners DAMS, and currently partners Williams test and development driver Alex Lynn.
With three podiums and one pole position to his name in F1’s official feeder category, Gasly takes over from Sébastien Buemi and António Félix da Costa as the official stand-in for fully-fledged Red Bull drivers Daniel Ricciardo and Daniil Kvyat.
Glad to be reserve driver for @redbullracing for the rest of the season. Let's get the best out of it! Keep working towards my goal!
— Pierre Gasly (@PierreGASLY) 28 Septembre 2015
Happy for @PierreGASLY moving up to 3rd driver position in @redbullracing congratulations boy! Your @damsracing is proud of you. — Jean-Paul Driot (@jpdriot) 28 Septembre 2015
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