Red Bull team principal Christian Horner says Pierre Gasly can definitely have a future in F1 despite being overlooked for a 2017 race seat.
Toro Rosso has traditionally been the proving ground for new young Red Bull drivers, with Gasly targeting a seat with the team after securing the 2016 GP2 title. However, with that championship only being won at the final round in Abu Dhabi, Toro Rosso had already opted to retain its current line-up of Carlos Sainz and Daniil Kvyat.
While Gasly is now in limbo - linked with a Super Formula driver as GP2 champions are not allowed to defend their title - Horner says the Frenchman remains part of the set-up because he is so highly regarded by Red Bull.
"Gasly has done a great job this year," Horner said. "It was good to see him win the GP2 championship. He has done important work for us and development work for us this year.
"There is not a seat available for him in F1 at the moment but he is the most senior member of the junior team, and is being retained by us because we rate him extremely highly. So whatever the future holds for him, F1 can still very much be part of that future."
Gasly would be following Stoffel Vandoorne's lead if he moves to Super Formula, with the 2015 GP2 champion racing in Japan this year before being handed a McLaren race seat for 2017.
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