Gasly, the missed opportunity

This could be a poisoned chalice. Many drivers go through an entire career without ever having the chance to defend the colors of a top team. Pierre Gasly will have the opportunity in his second full-time campaign in the discipline. Yes but there you go, the promotions at Red Bull can prove to be double-edged. Ask Daniil Kvyat, he knows something about it. Especially when you set foot on the land of Max Verstappen, an orange bull with crazy talent and smoking nostrils, in a Red Bull environment which sometimes seems to be swooning over the Dutch star. Aware of the challenge awaiting its new driver and that his elevation in the house hierarchy was not expected so soon, the Austrian team is doing everything to protect the French rookie by tempering hopes, especially in the first races.

“We don’t expect him to be at Max’s level at the start of the season, told us last year in Spa the Austrian Helmut Marko, historical manager of the sector which made Sebastian Vettel a four-time world champion and Daniel Ricciardo and Verstappen of multiple Grand Prix winners. One of Pierre's great strengths is that he is very good in qualifying. In the long term, he should be able to be at Max's level in this area. In terms of race pace, we want to see Pierre evolve to the level Ricciardo was at by mid-season.”

The Norman himself recognizes that he does not want to skip ahead but refuses to be considered in a supporting role for his cumbersome teammate. “For me, I am not number 2 in the sense that both drivers have the same chances and that is the team’s message, he retorts when asked about his status within the team. I'm here to give the team the best possible results. Afterwards, I am entering my second full season, I still have a lot to learn. It's my first year with Red Bull, Max already has two and a half, four in F1. He has more experience and it is certain that he is one of the most talented drivers – if not the driver – on the grid at the moment. I will have to take the time to adapt to the team and the car, and to develop as a driver. It's up to me to work and do this as quickly as possible to be at the best level as early in the season. My medium-term goal is to fight for the title of world champion. Max, who has already proven his level, his talent and his speed, is for me the best possible reference. It’s really a great opportunity.”

Faced with the alpha male airs that Verstappen constantly displays in the paddock, and even if the two young men have known and appreciated each other for a long time, Gasly will have to avoid being pushed around from the outset. The native of Rouen has however proved last year that behind his good humor and his smile was an intractable competitor, capable of knowingly disobeying the instructions of his team as he did in Brazil when Toro Rosso implicitly ordered him to open the door for his teammate Brendon Hartley.

Status change

Moving from Faenza to Milton Keynes, Gasly was not really out of place, having worked as a Red Bull reserve driver for several seasons before being given his chance as a starter at Toro Rosso at the end of 2017. Barely the curtain During the 2018 season it was discovered that the Norman had changed his suit and garage to take part in the traditional Abu Dhabi tests under the colors of the flagship of the energy drink giant. Before that, the 2 GP2016 Series champion had even already been able to jump into the in-house simulator, his predecessor Daniel Ricciardo being politely asked not to take any further part in the development work with a view to 2019. During the winter, Gasly set course for Santa Monica, California, for an intensive training program inside a former delivery warehouse that Red Bull has transformed into a state-of-the-art high-performance center. If he remains in the red bull family, the Frenchman is well aware of entering a new dimension.

“I feel ready, I have been preparing for a long time, he tells us after his studious offseason. Having already worked with the team allowed me to understand their working methods and what they expect of a driver in a top team. I try to take the positive everywhere and put everything together. It’s definitely a big step to overcome. We must not hide it. In terms of communication, I have been able to see in recent years what she did with Sebastian, Daniel then Max. I kind of knew what to expect. There are more demands, it takes more energy. But it's part of the job. These are no longer the same responsibilities at all and we are not asked to do the same work. And you have to take into consideration the size of the team, with 800 people looking after the two chassis. We see that it goes very, very deep into detail. I will improve over the next few years, there is no doubt about it. I am in the environment best able to allow me to develop as quickly as possible.”

Last month, the Rouennais was able to discuss the subject with Sebastian Vettel, a former pure product of the Austrian industry thrown into the deep end of Red Bull after 26 Grand Prix starts (1 with BMW and 25 under the Toro Rosso colors. Editor's note ), just like Gasly! “I asked him when he thought he reached his peak performance as a driver, says the French pilot. He pointed out to me that in our sport, we have very little riding time. We are constantly improving because it's not like in football where you can train and play every day. As the seasons go by, we are faced with new challenges, new delicate situations that must be managed. Last year, I knew that there were opportunities that were going to present themselves and that we were going to have to seize them. When you’re in a top team, there are opportunities to be seized every weekend.”

On the other hand, as soon as it comes to discussing his precise objectives and those of his new team for the coming season, our interlocutor drowns the fish and quickly activates caution mode as stipulated in the instructions passed internally. “We don't have enough information on the level of performance of the car, says the pilot from Bois-Guillaume (Seine-Maritime). This is the first season of partnership between Red Bull and Honda, we will have to give the team time to find its automatisms and extract the maximum competitiveness from the new package.. It seems that at the king of the stimulating can, there is only this good doctor Marko to bring a little pep to the declarations.

Driving element

Despite his relative inexperience compared to his garage neighbor, Gasly nonetheless has an important role to play in the Red Bull-Honda team. That of an essential link in the chain which connects Japanese engine engineers to the often intransigent members of the Austrian clan. The Frenchman acquired his knowledge of the Japanese method the hard way. After his GP2 title at the end of 2016 and given the difficulties encountered by Daniil Kvyat, he thought that we were going to give him his chance in the premier category. Instead, he was asked to move to the land of the Rising Sun to compete in the very competitive Super Formula under the colors of Team Mugen, Honda's satellite team. In a foreign world where the language barrier proves to be a real problem, his first races turn into a “disaster”, to use Marko’s words. Gasly could then have disunited and let himself be carried away by homesickness. On the contrary, he decides to roll up his sleeves to start working again and quickly gains maturity.

The Normand's efforts soon paid off, to the point that he found himself in contention for the title after two victories in a row in the middle of the season. Even if he could not defend his chances during a final canceled due to a typhoon in the Suzuka region, he finished as the best Honda representative, far ahead of his experienced teammate Naoki Yamamoto, who won the title in 2013.

His performances did not go unnoticed by Red Bull, who decided to field him with Toro Rosso from the 2017 Malaysian Grand Prix before starting him for 2018, at the same time as the Honda engine arrived in Faenza. Patient and respectful towards his Japanese colleagues, Gasly rewarded their work from the second race of the season, in Bahrain, by achieving a superb fourth place, which remains to this day the best result for the Sakura engine manufacturer since his return to F1 at the start of 2015.

“Pierre's experience at our side is proving very useful to us, explains Toyoharu Tanabe, technical director of Honda F1. He knows our technologies and our method of operation. It was a real pleasure working with him at Toro Rosso and we look forward to continuing this collaboration at Red Bull.”. Weaned from titles since its quadruple double in 2010-2013, the Milton Keynes team has in Gasly the ideal transmission belt to establish a harmonious collaboration with its new partner. “ I explained to them what went very well with Honda, as well as the things where, from a riding point of view, they could improve, replies the Frenchman when asked about his contribution to the association given his recent experience with the Japanese manufacturer. The way of working and communicating with Japanese engineers is quite particular. It's a different culture, it takes a little time to understand and extract the most from everyone because the methods are not the same. I gave them all the information I thought would be useful.”

At the time of making his debut in a top team, no matter the uncertainties surrounding the potential of the new propellant, no matter the danger represented by a direct confrontation with the Dutch rocket Verstappen. Gasly prefers to enjoy the simple pleasure of having the chance, rare in F1, to evolve at the forefront. “When we are very focused on the work to be done and the objectives, we can lose sight of the joy of finding ourselves here after all the years of karting and the efforts made,” smiles the Frenchman. Being at Red Bull, in my second full season, is something that I relish. This is the beginning of a beautiful story”. Which we hope will be as long as possible.