Red Bull Racing may have found a treasure in Max Verstappen, who eventually ended up being their lead driver following the exit of Daniel Ricciardo in 2018.
However, this minor change to the driver’s line-up opened a can of worms, as what followed was a rather horrible stint for anyone who found themselves taking over the second driver role.
The story of Red Bull & their dismal second driver luck
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It started with Pierre Gasly who, of course, earned the Red Bull seat after accomplishing a decent year at Toro Rosso (now AlphaTauri). However, the moment he stepped into the Milton Keynes outfit, his career took a turn for the worst.
There were hardly any good days for the Frenchman, as he would persistently pull off poor performances which ultimately led Red Bull to make the tough decision of sending Gasly back to Toro Rosso and replace him with another fresh face in Alex Albon.
Again, a similar story played out over Albon’s stint too, only with an excessive number of crashes and a mere podium finish. But, that isn’t enough to impress a championship-winning team like Red Bull, is it?
Well, then arrived their final replacement hope in Sergio Perez. Christian Horner and Dr. Helmut Marko chose to pick a driver from out of their programme for the first time in years, but, luckily for the optimistic duo, the Perez signing worked like a charm.
The Mexican managed to garner a total of 5 podiums including a race win at Baku. Also, not to forget, the game-changing defending that he managed to pull off in Istanbul and Abu Dhabi, which helped his teammate, Verstappen, win the championship title.
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Pierre Gasly fires shot at Perez
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Gasly has embraced a strong showing since his return to AlphaTauri. Not only has he finished in the points quite frequently but has also found himself on the podium occasionally. Hence, as reported by Motorsport, Gasly slammed the Austrian outfit for choosing Perez over him as Verstappen’s partner for the 2022 season.
“When I compare myself to those who got the opportunity for a Red Bull seat, it’s disappointing. Based on the numbers and results, I have delivered a better performance,” he said.
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Overall, let’s hear it from you – Do you think Gasly deserved the second Red Bull seat over Perez?
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