Pierre Gasly: Rollercoaster of emotions

Published on 17 June 2023 at 20:00

Nathan Hartley

 

Gasly has had a rollercoaster of emotions during his Formula 1 career so far. From the highs of winning in Monza to the quick demotion from Red Bull. Lets go through the Frenchman's Formula 1 career.

 

Entering Formula 1

Gasly had been part of the Red Bull Junior Team since the 2014 season. The Frenchman made his Formula 1 debut at the 2017 Malaysian Grand Prix, replacing Russian driver Daniil Kvyat at Toro Rosso for one race.

 

Gasly became a full-time Formula 1 driver for the start of the 2018 season, racing alongside Brendon Hartley at Toro Rosso. The Frenchman had a successful first season, scoring 29 points, resulting in 14th in the world drivers' championship.

 

His teammate, Brendon Hartley, only managed to score four points throughout the entire season.

 

Gasly's best finish was at his second race in 2018 at the Bahrain Grand Prix. The Toro Rosso driver was able to secure an impressive fourth place finish - just outside the podium positions.

 

Promotion to Red Bull

After an impressive first season in Formula 1 with the Faenza-based outfit, Gasly was called up to drive alongside Max Verstappen for Red Bull for the 2019 season. The Frenchman replaced Daniel Ricciardo, who left the team to go to Renault.

 

Red Bull has been a front-running team for the majority of the time being in the sport. The Austrian team has won four world championships at the time with Sebastian Vettel during the 2010 to 2013 seasons.

 

Since then, it had been Mercedes dominance. However, Red Bull were always there with Ferrari as the second best team. Therefore, the Frenchman had a lot of pressure to deliver.

 

However, the pressure would get to the Frenchman as he would be axed from the team mid-season, returning back to Toro Rosso after the 2019 Hungarian Grand Prix. He would be replaced by Alex Albon, which would trigger the swap move to see Gasly back at Toro Rosso.

 

Gasly was massively underperforming at Red Bull compared to teammate Max Verstappen. Many people see Verstappen's talent with the Dutchman now winning two drivers' world championships and is now on course to win his third in 2023.

 

Return to Toro Rosso

Gasly would make his second debut for Toro Rosso at the Belgian Grand Prix, where he would score points on his first race back with the Italian team with a ninth place finish.

 

The Frenchman would rediscover his lost form at Red Bull. The penultimate race of the season in Interlagos would see him achieve his best ever result in Formula 1. The Toro Rosso driver would claim his first podium in Formula 1 with a second place finish at the 2019 Brazilian Grand Prix.

 

Gasly's second place finish was Toro Rosso's best race result since Sebastian Vettel's historic win in Monza back in 2008 at the Italian Grand Prix. The Frenchman described on the team radio that it was the "best day of my life".

 

Same team, new branding

Toro Rosso would be rebranded to AlphaTauri for the 2020 season. Gasly would retain his seat after an impressive second half of the season, partnering with Daniil Kvyat.

 

The Frenchman would experience his childhood dream of winning a Formula 1 race. He would win at the 2020 Italian Grand Prix, emulating Sebastian Vettel's win in 2008 for the same team.

 

Gasly would end the 2020 season with a career-best 75 points, earning him 11th in the drivers' championship. He would significantly outscore teammate Kvyat, as the Russian finished 14th with 32 points.

 

The 2021 season would see Gasly, once again, retain his seat. However, his teammate Kvyat would be replaced with exciting rookie Yuki Tsunoda for the 2021 season.

 

Gasly would act as the team leader for the 2021 season. The Frenchman would also experience the most successful season he has ever had in Formula 1. The AlphaTauri car benefitted from the small floor regulation changes with their high-rake philosophy.

 

The Frenchman ended the season on 110 points - compared to Tsunoda's 32 points. Gasly had one podium finish in Azerbaijan, but was often considered as 'best of the rest' with consistent high points finishes. The 110 points accumulated was enough for ninth in the drivers' championship.

 

However, the 2022 season would strike disaster for Gasly. The Frenchman would happily retain his seat alongside Tsunoda at AlphaTauri for the 2022 season.

 

Despite that, there had been a major overhaul in regulations with the new ground-effect cars, designed to allow for closer racing. However, AlphaTauri did not do a good job with the regulations.

 

Gasly would end the season with only 23 points in a disappointing season as the Frenchman finished 14th in the drivers' championship. His best result came at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, securing a fifth place finish.

 

Leaving the Red Bull family

After spending his entire Formula 1 career with the Red bull family so far, Gasly would finally make the decision to leave the family ahead of the 2023 season. Initially in 2022, Gasly signed a deal with AlphaTauri for the 2023 season. However, poor performances persuaded the Frenchman to leave the team for Alpine.

 

Gasly would drive alongside fellow Frenchman Esteban Ocon at a French team. Gasly has had some negative encounters with Ocon in the past. However, their friendship had been restored.

 

The Frenchman hasn't had the best of starts to life in blue colours, sitting 10 points behind Ocon in the standings. He would achieve his best race result in Monaco with a seventh place finish. However, Ocon was able to secure a podium finish in third.

 

Furthermore, the pair came together at the Australian Grand Prix, forcing both of them to retire from the race from a double points position.

 

Overall, Gasly has achieved 347 points in his 115-race Formula 1 career so far, including three podiums, including the famous win in Monza back in the 2020 season.

 

How would you sum up Gasly's career so far?

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