Max Verstappen’s Former Teammate Left in Awe of His Championship Winning Move in Abu Dhabi

Pierre Gasly has recently opened up on Max Verstappen. The former Red Bull man stated that he was confident about the Dutchman’s killer instinct for the last lap. Verstappen made a late lunge to overtake Hamilton at the very last lap of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Verstappen switched to fresher soft tires during the safety car period. As soon as the race restarted, the Red Bull driver sped past the seven-time world champion to take home his maiden world champion. Gasly stated that he knew his former teammate would pull this off.

Talking about this, the current Alpha Tauri driver revealed, “I was confident Max would give it his all with fresh soft tires. We’re talking about a chance to become world champion with only one lap left. It’s hard to imagine what it’s like when you’re in the car. You just have to beat the other car.”

“I thought Max made a great move and the next corners were also very intense. I always knew Red Bull would win again at some point. They won four times with Sebastian Vettel and they have an amazing team full of smart people. I knew the championship was coming.”, The Frenchman further asserted.

How’s life for Pierre Gasly and Max Verstappen’s post-Red Bull partnership?

Pierre Gasly joined Max Verstappen at Red Bull in 2019. The Frenchman replaced outgoing Daniel Ricciardo. Pierre was a driver in Red Bull’s sister team Toro Rosso where he debuted in 2017. He debuted in Malaysian Grand Prix in 2017 and till now picked up a win and 3 podiums so far.

As Gasly partnered with Verstappen at the Austrian team, the 26-year-old found it very hard to comply with huge expectations. The Milton-Keynes-based team is a top team in F1 and they’d want any driver to perform their best. Not only did Pierre fail to deliver those performances but also couldn’t match up with Max Verstappen.

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After just 12 races, Gasly was replaced by Alex Albon. The 26-year-old then came back to Alpha Tauri (then Toro Rosso) again. Pierre delivered some decent performances in 2021 as he finished in P9 in driver’s standings with 110 points.

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On other hand, Max Verstappen went on to drive for Red Bull for some straight seasons. From picking up the driver’s championship last year to signing a new deal with the energy drink-based team, things have been pretty bright for the Dutchman.