As the 2022 F1 season reaches it's half-way stage, I can't help but question as to where the year has gone. But as with every F1 season, half-way is all about driver contracts and the so called "silly-season." The driver market has so far been an interesting talking point this season from Daniel Ricciardo not driving at his full potential down at McLaren to Nicholas Latifi over at Williams with his regular occurrence of spins and crashes. And then there's Pierre Gasly, the main focus of this blog post.
Over the past few years Pierre Gasly has become a household name in the world of motorsport thanks to his turbulent F1 journey. And, with the recent announcement that Alpha Tauri will be retaining the Frenchman for the 2023 season, I'm taking a look at whether this is the right option for the 26 year old from Rouen in France.
Pierre grew up in a motorsport oriented family. His grandparents were avid karters and his father raced in a range of motorsport categories. Pierre himself was six when he got his first taste of karting. Fast forward some years and Pierre can call himself a champion in the world of Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 (2013) and GP2 (2016). He also joined the infamous Red Bull Junior Team in 2014 where a high percentage of their drivers have gone on to race in Formula One. Pierre became apart of this elite percentage in mid-2017 when replaced then Toro Rosso driver Daniil Kvyat at that year's Malaysian Grand Prix. And thus, his Formula One dream became a reality.
2018 was Pierre's first full season in F1. He comfortably beat then team mate Brendan Hartley on track and in the standings and earned himself a promotion to the main Red Bull team alongside Max Verstappen for 2019. But 2019 saw Pierre's career take a turn for the worse. He was never comfortable with the RB15 (Red Bull's car for 2019) and would consistently see himself off the pace of his teammate and quite often lapped. By the second half of the season he was demoted back to Toro Rosso. As of 2022, Pierre still races for the team which has since be re-branded as Alpha Tauri and with one win and three podiums, all with AT, Pierre has quite possibly become the team's most successful driver. So why should we even be questioning as to whether Pierre should be carrying on with the team for another year?
The answer is pretty simple. He has been there since 2017, albeit half a year at Red Bull. Alpha Tauri will never be a world championship team as long as their "older sister" Red Bull is still on the grid and Pierre has proved that he can race. With no immediate opening back at Red Bull in the immediate future, this leaves Pierre in limbo.
Pierre staying at Alpha Tauri is good for the team. They have a race winning, experienced driver to help them get the points they need and the expertise to continue developing the car. This also means Pierre continues to have a race seat in a team he knows extremely well. However, Alpha Tauri is a junior team and Pierre is no longer a junior. For years, a driver at this team would be there on average for two years and then would either move to Red Bull or be shown the door. Luckily for Pierre, the majority Red Bull's current crop of juniors haven't been ready to step up into the pinnacle of motorsport but with many of them currently racing in Formula 2, it's just a matter of time and Pierre will therefore need to move forward.
Looking at ex-Toro Rosso and ex-Red Bull Junior Carlos Sainz, he has shown the motorsport world that there is success after Red Bull where progression regularly stalls.
Carlos left Toro Rosso midway through 2017 when an opportunity opened up at Renault. He has since moved to McLaren and then on to the prestigious Ferrari team. Although he is still waiting for his first win, Carlos is consistently fighting up at the front of the field and has become a regular on the podium. But this is a risk that Carlos took. It may not work out the same for Pierre. He has a decent seat, why risk it?
In my own opinion, he should risk it. As already discussed, he has the talent. He may not be world championship material and has faltered under pressure in the past but he is capable of winning and securing podiums when the opportunity presents itself. Pierre could also get another shot at Red Bull in the future, but when? He's definitely coming across as more confident and well developed driver since 2019 but will revisiting his past but him back to square one? A positive mentality is important for a driver and the Red Bull environment isn't exactly world renowned.
Personally, I think Pierre's future lies elsewhere away from Red Bull but with very few seats available in F1 it comes as no surprise that he is staying with Alpha Tauri for now. The rumour of a potential move to McLaren was one that particularly caught my attention earlier in the season. Obviously that rumour has since been debunked but I'd be all for it in the future. Pierre has the right talent, he just needs the right seat.
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