Gasly would have liked to have a more experienced engineer at Red Bull Racing

At the risk of seeming like indestructible chauvinists, we would have liked to hear Christian Horner defend Pierre Gasly last year with the same kindness as the main team Red Bull Racing currently shows towards his successor Alexander albon. 

Never mind, the Frenchman found a smile again at Toro Rosso, which became AlphaTauri in 2020, and proves again this season, despite a not transcendental AT01, that it has lost none of its steering. 

Having passed very close to Q3 at Silverstone, Gasly was ahead of the 2nd Red Bull RB16 for the 2nd time in qualifying in 4 weekends of competition this season. The delicate period that Albon is going through, even if these race results are good and he was in the running for victory at the Austrian GP, ​​is reminiscent of the difficulties experienced by the Norman with the team of Milton Keynes last year. 

Except that the support shown by Red Bull towards the Thai driver appears more marked than that shown to his predecessor. Since this weekend, Albon has recovered Mark Webber's former racing engineer and Daniel Ricciardo, Simon Rennie, a more experienced figure than Mike Lugg, who discovered the F1 at the same time as Gasly last year.  

« The changes Red Bull is making at the moment are positive, commented the Frenchman after the qualifying session of the British GP. This is what I wanted last year as well. I arrived on the team after just one season as a starter. It's not much, even though I knew I was fast. I would have liked to have someone a little more experienced by my side. But it's the past and I want to move forward ». 

Relaunched to find out if the comparison Verstappen-Albon provided proof that last year's setbacks were not solely his responsibility, Gasly hesitated for a long time before responding.

« I'll let you form your own opinion., he finally whispered. All I have to say is that several things could have been handled better. If they made changes, it was because they considered them necessary. ». 

Gasly, however, refutes the theory that he is a new man and jokes that only the color of his abundant mop of hair is different from his short-lived stint at Red Bull. 

« On a personal level, I don't feel like I've changed much., assured the person concerned. Of course, I have experienced things, both professionally and personally (death of his friend Anthoine Hubert at Spa-Francorchamps last year, Editor's note) who made me grow and built my character. As a driver, I'm probably more satisfied because I feel like I can perform at my best level ».