Horner Rejects Gasly’s Claims Of Being ‘Surprised’ By Red Bull Snub

Having won the Italian GP this season, many called on for Red Bull to recall Pierre Gasly to the second seat alongside Max Verstappen. For what it was worth, that could have easily been a great line-up in 2021.

However, their sister team, AlphaTauri, recently confirmed the young French star as their driver for 2021. It caused a bit of a surprise to Gasly, as to why there was no consideration from Red Bull’s end.

Read More – Gasly Compares Himself To Vettel Following Red Bull Snub

Now, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has moved to respond with the reasoning behind it. a major part of it had to do with the clarity to fulfill the Italian team’s emerging ambitions.

Red Bull made it ‘clear’ to Gasly that he is a key part of AlphaTauri

Speaking in the pre-race press conference, Horner said, “He’s a key part of the AlphaTauri team. AlphaTauri has got different aspirations than that of Toro Rosso. It’s not just purely a junior team it’s more a sister team, as I’ve previously stated.”

The Red Bull boss went on to say that the structural bond built between Gasly and AlphaTauri was an integral part of the deal confirmation. Gasly has himself admitted that all his focus will be with his current team for 2021.

“We were very pleased for Pierre that he’s doing a great job in that environment. He’s happy in that environment.

“The team are very happy with him. So why break that up? I think that that’s been made clear to him.” concluded Horner.

Gasly could still return to the main team in the future

One must not forget that Gasly had previously spent a season in 2018 with what was formerly Toro Rosso. Even after his demotion from the main team, it they gave him a platform to re-launch and succeed.

Aged just 24 years old, there is still a lot of time for Gasly to continue proving his worth in F1. If the promotion to Red Bull had come immediately, it would have been with an element of doubt.

Perhaps what Red Bull might have been most afraid of, in that regard, is a repeat saga from 2019 with the French youngster. After all, Gasly did not exactly enjoy a great half-season with the team back then.

From that perspective, being the lead driver at a team that aims to become a midfield settler, could do him the world of good. Naturally, if the time is right, a recall to Red Bull Racing is always a genuine possibility.