Christian Horner says there are currently no plans for bring Pierre Gasly back into the Aston Martin Red Bull Racing team line-up, with their focus remaining on the continued development of Alexander Albon.
Gasly was dropped from the Red Bull team mid-way through the 2019 season and returned to the team that gave him his Formula 1 debut – Scuderia Toro Rosso. He secured his first podium finish of his career in last season’s Brazilian Grand Prix and then took a stunning first race victory last weekend in the Italian Grand Prix with the now rebranded Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda outfit.
Horner says the plan is to continue aiding the confidence and growth of Albon in the second Red Bull seat alongside Max Verstappen, with Gasly likely to remain with the sister team in 2021.
“Pierre has done a fantastic job,” Horner is quoted as saying by Motorsport.com. “Since taking the step back into what was Toro Rosso, he’s found his confidence, he’s driving incredibly well. AlphaTauri are doing a great job with him. It’s good to see that’s working out for him.
“I think as far as Red Bull Racing’s seats are confirmed, we’re focused on Alex Albon. We want to try and give him the best opportunity to retain that seat. It wouldn’t make sense to switch the drivers back.
“AlphaTauri is now a sister team rather than a junior team. Franz [Tost, Team Principal] is happy I believe with Pierre. The final decision will be made later in the year, but there’s no push from our side to reverse the situation.
“We want to address some of the issues we have with the RB16, which I think we are starting to understand and get on top of, and then we’ll go from there.”
Horner says AlphaTauri are no longer being considered as the junior team to Red Bull, and further crossovers are expected between the two outfits, starting with the shared use of a wind tunnel to reduce costs.
“Their aspirations are beyond where Toro Rosso’s were,” Horner added. “We have a synergy project within the regulations that we’re allowed. For example, the sharing of the wind tunnel will happen for the first time next year, which makes complete sense from a financial perspective.
“That’s what I was referring to. From a talent pool, Red Bull has invested in so many young drivers over the years. That will continue.”
