Pierre Gasly says he has had talks with Yuki Tsunoda to understand the situation, as several F1 drivers discuss the ghost of second Red Bull seat.
Alpine’s Gasly is one of the closets to Red Bull’s Tusnoda on the current F1 grid. The time they spend each other at Visa Cash App RB brought them close and they remain good friends till date. After the Japanese moved to the big seat, things hasn’t gone to the plans exactly.
He has joined the list of drivers, who have struggled to perform in the second Red Bull seat – which includes Gasly. The Frenchman was the first to get the taste, followed by Alexander Albon, Sergio Perez and Liam Lawson. The car, in general, is tough to drive but it doubles against Max Verstappen.
Amid the struggles, Gasly said he has discussed things with Tsunoda, but didn’t wish to elaborate. The Frenchman noted that something is off. The likes of Williams’ Albon and Sainz also voiced their say on the ghost of second Red Bull seat and how difficult it is against Verstappen.
The Dutchman’s might isn’t to stop Visa Cash App RB’s Isack Hadjar, though, whose dream remains to drive for Red Bull. The Frenchman is having a good run so far in his rookie season, but will not be promoted just yet. Verstappen shared his thoughts on him adopting as much as well.
Pierre Gasly: “Yeah, I spoke with him beforehand. To be fair, I think we all get put in the same basket when it comes to the second car. But to me, things were very different to me than they were for Alex or they were for Perez. I’m not going to elaborate too much on that. Clearly, something is not clicking for Yuki. I just hope for him as a friend that somehow it comes together because the level there is on the grid. You know what everybody is capable of doing – it just doesn’t seem right.”
Alexander Albon: “I think the cars are on a knife edge, and Max can drive it. Obviously, I can speak from experience, and I struggled with it, and I think with the experience I have now, I’d be able to get around it, but it is not something which feels natural to most drivers. What you are seeing now and my own interpretation of it is that the RB is quite a forgiving car, in 2019 it was quite well-balanced and very stable and gives you a lot of confidence. Naturally, it has become that kind of car because they always have rookies in that car, so the foundations of the team is built on young drivers, and then the Red Bull is almost the extreme. You are going from one of the most forgiving cars to the most tricky in the most simple sense, and you have to adapt quite a lot to two very different cars.
“The driving side is a part of it, but the bigger part of it is understanding the cars, the tyres, the engineering and your own driving style as well. These kinds of things, when you are a young driver, even in F1, you are still discovering what makes the car click, what makes me click and what compromises you can make with the car. It is clear Max can drive that car, and he likes it that particular way, it is supposed to be the quickest way, and he gets on with it and can get lap-time out of it. So there is a bit of that going on, and also the simplest thing is dealing with the nose of being that number two driver. It is not easy for a young driver.”
Carlos Sainz: “I think everyone’s having a really tough time being Verstappen’s teammate. I can only say that when I was Max’s teammate, I didn’t have this tough time. I was obviously incredibly surprised with how quick he was, with how he’s an insane driver. He’s probably going to go on to be one of the best-ever in history, if he’s not already one of the best-ever in history. But that first year together since then, has given me the confidence to know I can be up against anyone. I’ve been team-mates with Charles, Lando, with Nico Hulkenberg. I’ve been, I think, teammates with very quick guys and probably the best in the sport, and now Alex, incredibly fast also. So it just makes me want to be up against the best still, it hasn’t made me go on like, ‘No, I don’t want’, I know I can take it, and I know I’ve been successful in the past.”
Isack Hadjar: “I mean, when I got signed by Red Bull four years ago, that was definitely the target – to end up in the big team. I’m still on my way. At the moment I’m happy where I am, learning a lot. And yeah, that would be the natural progression – no need to hide it. When I signed the contract with Red Bull four years ago, the goal was to get to Red Bull, so it hasn’t changed. It’s definitely interesting [to see Verstappen]. I would obviously love to, out of curiosity, go and have a look for myself. Max in the Red Bull is very fast. It’s his car and he drives it to the absolute limit. It’s a more efficient car in high-speed corners. It’s a faster car, but it’s apparently hard to exploit most of it. I don’t know what’s going on over there, obviously, but the only thing I can tell is that Yuki is very fast. [Against Verstappen] That means you would start the weekend on the back foot all the time. Max doesn’t make mistakes. He puts it together all the time in Q3. He’s very explosive. He gets in the rhythm very fast. You always have to make up lap time and try to get there. It’s definitely a different approach, something I’ve never experienced, because I’ve never faced a four-time world champion. Mentally, yes [I might be able to match him]. I know I’m strong, so I’m not very worried about that. If there’s one thing I’m good at, it’s this. The only thing is, do I have the skills? Do I have Verstappen’s skills? I don’t know. I don’t know yet. That’s the thing.”
Max Verstappen: “The thing is that I don’t know any better, right? I’ve basically started with Red Bull, so I only know one car. And that’s how I drive. I adapt to it. Is it the best? Is it the fastest? Is it not? I don’t know. I just adapt to what I have – or just drive what I have under me. And, yeah, it’s been performing for many years very well. We, as a team, have done great things. And this year, last year, other teams have also stepped up. Now it’s up to us to try and find more performance. But every car, I guess, when you drive on the limit, is not easy.”
Here’s Yuki Tsunoda on British GP
Here’s Pierre Gasly on British GP
Here’s Christian Horner on his goodbye