Red Bull Motorsports
F1
Pierre Gasly looks ahead to his 1st season at Aston Martin Red Bull Racing
We spoke to the French driver about his unconventional promotion to a full-time place at one of Formula One's top-tier teams and why his career has progressed at breakneck speed.
It was the phone call that rising F1 star Pierre Gasly had been wishing for – but it was a call he missed. Twice. Last August, after Daniel Ricciardo had dropped the bombshell that he was swapping Red Bull Racingfor Renault, Gasly found out the hard way that mobile phones and water don't mix.
"I broke my phone, so I didn't have any phone for a couple of days," the former Toro Rosso driver recalls as he sits in the Red Bull Racing hospitality area at the Circuit de Catalunya, site of the first 2019 pre-season test in Barcelona.
"For three to four days I didn't have time to get a phone, so I sent an email to [Red Bull motorsport advisor] Helmut [Marko] to tell him my best friend's number. Then my friend missed two calls from Helmut's office. Finally I managed to get to him two hours later.
"He told me the news that I would drive for Red Bull, so it was a really special moment. My best friends followed me in karting, all the formulas, and they know how important it is for me. So it was actually really great to get the call that way and to be able to celebrate with all my closest friends."
Pierre Gasly got down to business at F1 testing in Barcelona
© Getty Images/Red Bull Content Pool
Gasly can laugh about it now, but given how the Frenchman's career has panned out over the past few years, he won't have been surprised that things weren't straightforward. The 23-year-old has driven in just 26 Grands Prix, and yet it's been a long and winding journey to the top.
There was no room on the F1 grid in 2017 for the previous year's GP2 (now F2) champion, meaning Gasly had to join the Super Formula series in Japan.
That September, though, Gasly was summoned by Toro Rosso for the Malaysian Grand Prix, with Daniil Kvyat – who is now back with the team, of course – making way. Gasly competed in five of the final six races of the 2017 season, missing the US Grand Prix in Austin to compete for the Super Formula title in a race that was abandoned because of the threat of a typhoon at Suzuka. He was retained for the 2018 F1 campaign. And then things got really interesting.
Gasly will partner Max Verstappen at Red Bull Racing this season
© Getty Images/Red Bull Content Pool
In the second race of his first full season, Gasly stunned F1 fans when he stormed to fourth in Bahrain, scoring his first 12 points. Ten races and two more points finishes later, and Gasly was in pole position for Ricciardo's Red Bull Racing spot. Whirlwind doesn't even begin to describe it.
"It's been a pretty crazy past 15 months for me, from doing Super Formula in Japan to getting the first opportunity at Toro Rosso at the end of the year, thrown in the car with no testing," he says.
"And then, halfway through the first season for Toro Rosso, I got promoted [to Red Bull]. I've not had time to think of all the things, to be honest. Sometimes it's good to take a few minutes and realise all of the things that have gone on. It's been a pretty exciting last 15 months."
1 min
Max Verstappen unleashes the RB15
After an intense winter of design and development, see the RB15 hit the track for the first time.
Gasly has moved from a team where a points finish is worthy of podium celebrations to an outfit that's won four world titles and 59 Grands Prix. This comes with increased expectations – and scrutiny.
The first day of 2019 testing saw Gasly notch a respectable lap time of 1m 19.814s – just over three-tenths of a second slower than his experienced teammate Max Verstappen managed the day before. But with an hour of the session left, Gasly was in the barriers after losing control of the RB15 car.
Gasly is taking his fast-track career path in his stride
© Getty Images/Red Bull Content Pool
Gasly, who immediately took responsibility for his mistake, says the chance to drive for a top-tier team allows him to concentrate on the small details rather than the bigger picture.
"It's more exciting than putting pressure on," he says. "You're in an environment that's so professional, with so much knowledge – they know how to deal with everything. So my main focus is on myself, making sure that I'm 100 percent ready when I jump in the car to deliver the best performance that I can.
"At the same time, I'm only in my second year, and I know I'll develop in the next few years because I don't have much experience. The more I race, the better I will be, but I just want to make sure I learn as fast as possible to be competitive. By the end of the year, I'll double my experience working in F1."
Gasly also brings some valuable knowledge to the paddock. After his Super Formula season with Team Mugen, and his time at Toro Rosso driving a 2018 STR13 propelled by Honda power, he has more experience than many at Red Bull Racing of working with Japanese engineers. With Honda on board as Red Bull Racing's engine supplier, it's something that he feels will hold him in good stead.
"It's what I try to give, with working with the Japanese the last two years," he says. "They have their own mentality and their own way of communicating and working – it's all about respect. Once you understand it, you need to be patient before the trust is real between everyone. That's what I try to give to the team."
Pierre Gasly thinks his time in Japanese Super Formula will benefit him
© Getty Images/Red Bull Content Pool
Gasly doesn't need to be reminded that replacing a seven-time Grand Prix winner – not to mention joining a driver as expert as Verstappen – brings pressure that he's never come close to experiencing before.
But rather than talk about his expectations for the season ahead, something Ricciardo good-naturedly baulked at doing when he was in the same seat, Gasly instead stresses that he's keen to keep a sense of reality about his near-vertical career progression.
"It's more about always trying to do my best," he says of the 2019 season. "If I don't feel I've delivered my best performance, I'm not satisfied with it. I'm the kind of guy who's always trying to find the little thing that didn't go well and thinking, 'I could have done this or that better' and trying to always improve myself.
"The main thing for me is to take experience from Max, from the team, to develop myself through the season to feel stronger and more comfortable, so I'm able to show the speed and the talent that I have. The more I'm going to race, the better I'm going to be."
