Scuderia AlphaTauri has officially confirmed that Italian Grand Prix winner Pierre Gasly will remain with the Faenza-based squad for 2021.
The news is anything but surprising as Red Bull motorsport boss Helmut Marko had hinted as recently as last weekend's Portuguese GP to a status quo regarding the Frenchman's future, despite pundits calling for Gasly's return to Red Bull Racing in lieu of the underperforming Alex Albon.
"I’m delighted that Pierre will remain with us for the 2021 season," said AlphaTauri team boss Franz Tost. "He has been part of the Red Bull driver pool for many years and I hope he will remain in the Red Bull family for many seasons ahead.
"Since he came back to the team last year, he consistently showed extremely good performances achieving two podiums, with a second place in Brazil in 2019 and a win at the team’s home race at this year’s Italian Grand Prix.
"Pierre has proven to be highly competitive also thanks to his great race craft, extracting the car’s potential at every race and giving valuable feedback to his engineers.
"He is mentally very strong, he is always motivated and when he sets a goal he gives it his all to achieve it. I’m looking forward to extending this cooperation and having a successful 2021 season together."
AlphaTauri has yet to confirm the identity of Gasly's teammate for 2021 but F2 racer and Honda protégé Yuki Tsunoda is expected to replace Daniil Kvyat, which means that Albon will either save his seat alongside Max Verstappen at Red Bull Racing in the following races or sadly find himself without a drive in F1 in 2021.
"I’m extremely happy to continue with Scuderia AlphaTauri for another season!" commented Gasly. "This year is going very well, and we are on track to have our most successful season in the team’s history.
"I feel we have a very strong relationship, we have managed to take every opportunity that’s come our way, the best one at the Italian Grand Prix. Winning my first Formula 1 race in Monza was a very special moment for me, and it was made extra sweet to deliver a second win in the team’s history, so I’m very proud of that.
"I’ll do my maximum to push the team and take all my responsibility to bring it as far forward as I can. I’m looking forward to next year’s challenge and continuing with AlphaTauri both as a premium fashion brand and a racing team, to keep performing as much as I can to achieve even more success in the future."
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