F1 News, Reports and Race Results

Gasly must look for F1 future outside of Red Bull family - Chandhok

Sky F1 pundit Karun Chandhok believes there's no going back to Red Bull Racing for Pierre Gasly in the future, insisting the Italian GP winner should look for an F1 opportunity outside of his current family for 2022.

Gasly strong 2020 campaign with AlphaTauri came in the wake of his demotion from Red Bull Racing in the summer of 2019, when the Frenchman and promising young talent Alex Albon exchanged seats.

While Albon has disappointed this season following his failure to perform on a par with teammate Max Verstappen, Gasly put his strong head down and started from a clean slate with Red Bull's sister team.

The Frenchman comfortably outperformed and outscored teammate Daniil Kvyat in 2020, finishing ten times in the points and delivering a shock but well-deserved win at Monza.

But that outstanding achievement wasn't enough to incite Red Bull motorsport boss Helmut Marko to initiate another round-trip seat exchange between Albon and Gasly. The latter will remain with the Faenza squad next year, racing alongside new recruit Yuki Tsunoda.

"Watching Pierre win in Monza was probably my highlight of this season," Chandhok told Sky Sports F1.

"He is a lovely guy who has shown incredible mental strength after bouncing back from a very difficult 2019 where not only did his career look in tatters but he also lost his best friend in Anthoine Hubert."

Yet Chandhok reckons that racing at AlphaTauri will remain as good as it gets for Gasly within the Red Bull family.

"While Monza was obviously a one off, Pierre has well and truly beaten Daniil Kvyat and driven some great races, often with unconventional strategies, to rebuild his reputation," added the former Grand Prix driver.

"I cannot see him getting back to the main Red Bull team, so I think he needs to use 2021 to build on the foundations of this year and launch himself into the driver market outside the Red Bull family."

Red Bull Racing is still mulling whether to retain Albon's services for next season or to replace the British-Thai racer with departed Racing Point charger - and Sakhir GP winner - Sergio Perez.

Red Bull is expected to make the final call in the next few days.

Gallery: The beautiful wives and girlfriends of F1 drivers

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter

Michael Delaney

Recent Posts

Aston Martin says performance shortfall led to Fallows exit

Aston Martin performance director Tom McCullough has shed some light on why the team’s former…

3 hours ago

FIA clamps down on plank loophole after Red Bull complaint

The FIA has issued a pivotal Technical Directive to F1 teams ahead of this weekend’s…

4 hours ago

F1 drivers blindsided by race director Wittich’s sudden exit

The abrupt removal last week of FIA race director Niels Wittich with just three races…

6 hours ago

McLaren relaxes ‘papaya rules’: Norris and Piastri free to race

Oscar Piastri has confirmed that McLaren’s team orders—dubbed the "Papaya Rules"—have been largely relaxed, giving…

7 hours ago

Cheers to the forever young pure racer Jacques Laffite

The forever young Jacques Laffite turns 81 today, but the years haven't aged this pure…

8 hours ago

Las Vegas GP: Wednesday's build-up in pictures

The neon lights of Las Vegas are set to illuminate the Formula 1 world once…

9 hours ago