Despite the pressure, Gasly not worried about his future at Red Bull

Proof of the interest, perhaps mixed with somewhat unhealthy curiosity, that arouses the future of Pierre Gasly in Red Bull : his Thursday media session at the Austrian Grand Prix attracted crowds to his team's XXL reception area.

There is no point in turning a blind eye, the results of the Frenchman's first six months under the colors of Milton Keynes are not glorious. The Norman only scored 37 points with a 5th place in Monaco as his best result, against 100 units and a pair of podiums for his talented teammate Max Verstappen. 

At the wheel of a car that he cannot feel the way he would like, Gasly may struggle like a lion, but the verdict in the standings and on the clock is cruel. It didn't take much for rumors of a driver change at Red Bull to begin to emerge. This would not be a first for the Austrian house, which had landed Daniil Kvyat as a mess after only four races in 2016 in order to promote child prodigy Verstappen. 

Asked if Spielberg feared the same fate, Gasly replied: “ Not really. No one is happy with the situation, me first and foremost. I am a competitor and I have the feeling that we are far from expressing the potential of our car. 

It's not very pleasant but everyone has their heads on the wheel to improve. I focus on what I can do better myself. This is the most important at the moment. We are quite inconsistent, fast in some sessions but not in others. We just need to find more consistency. We need to identify what works and build on those foundations ». 

What doesn't kill you... (known quote)

The Rouennais, who was evasive about the various changes made to his car last weekend in France, admits having had to change his driving style quite significantly this season. Without success at the moment. But Gasly does not despair of finding the key.

« When you compete against the best drivers in the world in the most efficient single-seaters on the planet, everything has to be 105%., he added in a monotone to the pack of journalists present. You can't leave anything behind. 1% or 2% below the others and you are out of the game.

I feel like we have several areas for improvement, areas where I need to improve myself. I'm maybe at 97% but that's where the difference is. We are all working towards a common goal: will it pay off this weekend or in two or three races? I do not know yet. 

At the end of the day, you always learn from this kind of difficult situation. You learn a lot, about yourself and in many other areas. Certainly things don't go the way I would like them to, but when you go through a difficult period and take on the challenge, you come out stronger and more complete as a driver. 

The result doesn't matter that much in the end. Above all, I would like to feel like I got the most out of the car at the end of the weekend. Sometimes this only equates to a 5th or 6th place but at least you have the satisfaction of having left nothing on the table with the package at your disposal. For the moment, this is not the case on our side ». 

There is no doubt that a big performance on Red Bull grounds this weekend would help Gasly silence his detractors.