Gasly rues the importance of 'politics and money' in F1

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Toro Rosso's Pierre Gasly believes teams' driver choices are determined too often by "politics and money" rather than by pure "performance".

The 22-year-old, a product of Red Bull's young driver programme, will be moving to the senior bull outfit at the end of 2018, his first full season in the sport.

Gasly's promotion contrasts with the plight affecting fellow Frenchman Esteban Ocon who will likely find himself on the sidelines because of a scarcity of seats and his de facto association with Mercedes.

Despite the rivalry that exists between the two drivers, Gasly feels the situation involving Ocon is unfair.

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"I mean, this world in F1, it’s not the first time that things are unfair," he said.

"I’ve always said it, and I think everyone more or less agrees with it, that performance should be the only parameter to get your seat in Formula 1 and we all believe it should be the case.

"Unfortunately it’s a sport where politics and money play a massive part and as a driver it’s difficult to accept sometimes and I think he’s facing a situation that’s quite unfair."

Sergio Perez, who has witnessed in the past few two seasons the full extent of Ocon's talent as his team mate at Force India, echoed Gasly's sentiment.

"It will be very sad because I think he’s a great talent, he has done a good job and definitely deserves a seat in Formula 1," said the Mexican.

"We’ve seen in the past with Nico Hulkenberg after such a year that he did in his first season and he got kicked out. Formula 1 is a very hard world and very limited on opportunities.

"It’s all about timing. Drivers like Charles Leclerc come in at the right time, right moment and boom, get straight away a massive opportunity," he added.

"As always you need a bit of luck in this sport to in the right time at the right moment and certainly it’s not looking that way from Esteban at the moment but I am sure he has great support from Toto [Wolff] so he’s anyway in a privileged position."

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Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.