The curious case of Pierre Gasly

When the F1 world thinks about drivers with uncertain futures, Pierre Gasly is a name that doesn’t necessarily come immediately off the tongue. However, he is on that list, which is frankly mad based on his performances over the past few years.

Despite being a race winner, team leader and fan favourite, news in recent days suggests that Pierre’s position at AlphaTauri could be under question.

Sergio Perez’s contract extension with Red Bull was announced last week following the Mexican clumsily mentioning the deal on the live feed following his excellent win in Monaco. The correct decision for Red Bull’s senior team, as proven by Perez’s performance on that wet day.

“So what next for the Frenchman?”

This news effectively closes the door to another promotion to Red Bull for Gasly. So what next for the Frenchman?

In reality, the status quo works for Pierre and for AlphaTauri. Gasly and Yuki Tsunoda are a great pairing of youth, speed and the ability to improve quickly. That is precisely what Red Bull’s junior team need in their drivers. It is also clear that Pierre is the team leader, happy and comfortable.

There aren’t any Red Bull drivers that obviously need promoting from the feeder series. Yet, Pierre’s position cannot last forever in what is a junior team. They say that once you are comfortable within your role, you should move on to something more challenging to develop further. So one way or another, it would be beneficial for the growth of Pierre Gasly to move on.

“Pierre was not just uncomfortable - he was out of his depth”

The issue is that when he last moved on, he was in a tricky car next to one of the quickest on the grid in Max Verstappen. Pierre was not just uncomfortable - he was out of his depth. And you can’t help but feel that a part of him may fear leaving his family in Florenza.

Where should Gasly go?

I wrote an article on Daniel Ricciardo’s future in F1, and McLaren will be critical in the driver market. If they ditch Daniel, all dominos will begin to fall. Zak Brown may have an interest in IndyCar drivers. However, the reality is that Pierre is a known quantity and rated well in the F1 paddock. So he will surely be on the shortlist.

Pierre would be an excellent signing for McLaren. He may be as quick as Lando Norris, but enough to ensure that both cars are up there and keep Woking’s leading man honest. It’s the same reason Gasly would be a suitable Mercedes recruit if Hamilton was to make a shock retirement (as much as this would disappoint Nick De Vries).

Crucially, something that counts against Pierre is that Red Bull’s top team seems to have a problem even considering Gasly returning to the team. It appears as though Pierre was more distracted by bad results and found it difficult to move on compared to Sergio Perez.

“other teams will have underlying concerns of history repeating”

While it is true that Pierre was parachuted into a demanding scenario at a young age, other teams will have underlying concerns of history repeating when considering his services.

While most people watching F1 would assume that Gasly will safely have a long successful F1 career, there is a fear that he will be left behind by his peers and replaced by someone new.

Pierre Gasly’s next career move will define his F1 legacy.

Daniel is in the driver’s seat, but he needs to take control

If there is one thing that a man my age doesn't enjoy but finds himself doing more often, it's admitting to his Dad that they were right and he was wrong.

I shall begin this article by doing just that. Lando Norris is better than Daniel Ricciardo. At least, during their time at McLaren, that has been the case.

“As is often the case in life, the dream move may not live up to expectations”

I cannot the Honey Badger out. However, nobody wants to admit it, but many in the F1 community are concerned about Daniel Ricciardo's pace in the past couple of years. He simply hasn't gelled with the car. As is often the case in life, the dream move may not live up to expectations. And that is a great shame for Daniel, F1 and the world.

The biggest worries will be coming from the top of Daniel’s McLaren team. CEO Zak Brown is an ambitious, impatient racer. The very fact that he admitted in the media that McLaren has the option to opt out of the third year of Daniel's high wage contract is a warning sign to the man from Perth. Brown is also driven to get a US driver in F1. As a marketing man and an American himself, he can see the opportunities that a driver from the States would bring McLaren and F1 as it expands rapidly in the US.

Colton Herta appears to be the chosen one if he impresses in a test with McLaren later this year. Herta has shown super speed in IndyCar. Having grown up racing in Europe, teammates with Lando Norris no less, you would think he knows what he is doing in a European style race car.

“if Colton Herta was coming to McLaren, it was always Ricciardo that would be on the back foot”

The way Lando Norris has driven in the past couple of years has been up there with the Verstappens, Leclercs, Russells and Hamiltons of this world. He is unlucky not to have a victory yet, and the way he drove through his tonsillitis in Spain was arguably the season's performance so far. In reality, if Colton Herta was coming to McLaren, it was always Ricciardo that would be on the back foot.

The thing is, Ricciardo bring many great qualities to the team. He is highly marketable as one of the most popular drivers globally. He knows how to win, as he showed in Italy last year. His positivity is undoubtedly a benefit to any team. So dumping Daniel is a big decision.

“The question is, where has Daniel got left?”

It is not over for Daniel Ricciardo, and he can improve his form. Even if it doesn't save his McLaren career, it could prove to another team that he still has what it takes to be in F1. The question is, where has Daniel got left?

The big three of Mercedes, Red Bull and Ferrari are unlikely, and he's burned his bridges with Alpine. So that leaves Alfa Romeo, Williams, Haas and Aston Martin. Alfa and Haas are happy with their new team leaders in Bottas and Magnussen, and Daniel probably wouldn't fancy Williams, which leaves Aston Martin. I can see Aston replacing a retiring Vettel with Ricciardo if the cards fall in the right place at the right time. So ironically, the man who Daniel embarrassed out of Red Bull in 2014 could be the man deciding Daniel's future in the sport. It's funny how life works.

Daniel's future is not strictly in Seb's hands, as much as one can trust the big-hearted German. Daniel's future is in his hands. His performances will dictate his future, and the months ahead will be telling.