Pierre Gasly Admits that Nightmarish Red Bull F1 Stint Almost Ended his Career

When the 2019 Formula One season began, there was a lot of buzz surrounding Pierre Gasly when he was recruited by Red Bull. Unfortunately, what should have been another stepping stone to the rise of Pierre Gasly, never came to pass.

Instead, he struggled to get to grips with the RB15 and was soundly beaten by Max Verstappen. Although Red Bull assured him that his seat was safe until the end of the season, they lied and replaced him in the summer break.

As a result, the Frenchman was scared that his nightmare first half of 2019 would tarnish his career in Formula 1. While he partially accepted that some of the blame, he also held the team accountable as well.

After an impressive year at Toro Rosso, Pierre Gasly felt that he deserved a call-up to the senior squad. Who would have thought that he would come to regret his decision later, after a one-sided affair. Eventually, Red Bull opted to end his misery and relegated him to Toro Rosso in the summer break.

Speaking to RTL about his emotions after the switcheroo, he said, “In the lower race classes I always finished in the top 3. Of course that didn’t work during my first season with Toro Rosso, but it went well there. Those six months at Red Bull, however, were enough to undo almost all of my work. It almost cost me my career.”

“We are all responsible for the lack of performance. There are certainly things that I could have done differently, but there are also many things that should have been different within the team. If I could do this again, I’d like to see that some processes had gone differently.”

The good news is that he got his own back, as did fellow Red Bull reject, Daniil Kvyat. The Russian bagged a podium in Hockenheim owing to changeable conditions. Then, in Interlagos, Gasly won a drag race against Lewis Hamilton of all people, to snatch 2nd place.