Pierre Gasly has certainly proved his worth as one of the most successful mid-field drivers in Formula 1. The Frenchman has a victory to his name along with four hard-fought podiums. However, despite flaunting a reasonably appealing track record in F1, Gasly is still being haunted by his humiliating phase with Red Bull Racing in 2019. The Alpine driver was torn apart by the team, and not to forget the brutality of the media which almost tarnished his hard-earned respect in the motorsport community.
From being hailed as a future world champion to being disregarded as one of the worst drivers in Formula 1, Gasly went through a roller coaster at the Milton Keynes outfit. Indeed, Gasly has managed to win back his respect with some outstanding performances at Toro Rosso and AlphaTauri. But, the element of mystery continues to lurk around his brief stint alongside Max Verstappen. Was it really Red Bull to blame for Gasly’s giant failure with the team?
Well, Dr. Helmut Marko has come up with a sound statement that not only denies such theories but also takes a dig at Gasly.
Helmut Marko takes a shot at ex-Red Bull driver Pierre Gasly
During an interview with GrandPrix247, Marko revealed that, after a point, Gasly stopped looking for performances, and rather started looking for excuses. Furthermore, Marko reckoned Gasly was extremely reluctant to admit the fact that Verstappen was a better driver of the two. Here’s what the Red Bull advisor said:
“Yes. When he was lapped in Budapest, he wanted a different suspension. (Laughing) He’s not an engineer. He was just running out of excuses and simply couldn’t accept that Max is just the faster guy.”
The Austrian played a crucial factor in the arrival of Gasly to Red Bull, but his seemingly smart decision eventually backfired in the most horrible fashion. Despite spending plenty of time behind the wheel of his car, the Frenchman couldn’t find himself anywhere near Verstappen’s pace.
Subsequently, Gasly began sounding his frustrations to the media, which, of course, Red Bull was not a fan of. Eventually, Christian Horner and Co. ran out of patience and decided to swap Gasly with Alex Albon, who, unfortunately, encountered a similar fate at Red Bull. As for Sergio Perez, things started off well, but are starting to go sideways, to an extent where one can sense that a mid-season swap is imminent.
Sara Chavan