Red Bull saves Gasly's career with departure: 'That was clear for me'
F1 News
- GPblog.com
Alpha Tauri team boss Franz Tost spoke to The Race admitting that he would rather not have lost Pierre Gasly. The Frenchman proved in recent years that he was a reliable driver for the team, allowing Tost to build on him. Nevertheless, he fully understands Gasly's departure to Alpine.
In 2019, Gasly was given the opportunity to succeed Daniel Ricciardo at Red Bull Racing, but it proved unsuccessful. The talented driver was nowhere near the qualities of teammate Max Verstappen and was replaced by Alexander Albon the same season.
Gasly picked himself up at Toro Rosso (later AlphaTauri) and received many compliments for his performance. However, a return to Red Bull seemed out of the question, which meant Gasly had to wait patiently. When Alpine came forward, Marko decided to help Gasly and terminate his ongoing contract.
Understanding Gasly's departure
Tost would have preferred to keep the driver, but understands the decision. "Red Bull decided not to take him," analysed the team boss. "And Pierre wanted to go to another team. Because of all these changes with [Sebastian] Vettel stopping, [Fernando] Alonso going to Aston Martin, the seat at Alpine was free."
"Red Bull did something very fair to let him go to Alpine. This was clear for me, because otherwise the risk would have been far too great that he doesn’t have a seat for 2024. Then all the cockpits are full. It’s not an easy one [to accept Gasly’s exit]. But in the end I think it’s a fair decision."