Is Pierre Gasly Good Enough For F1?

The Question That Everybody Has Been Asking... With A Twist

After the Frenchman being lapped by his teammate, Max Verstappen, at the Austrian Grand Prix. Many people are wondering not only whether Gasly is good enough for Red Bull Racing, but also F1 itself!

I believe that he should ask Helmut Marko to be transferred to Toro Rosso. You may think this is a slightly bizarre comment but the reason I say this is because every single race weekend Gasly is ruining his F1 career, so he needs to prove himself in a lower team again just like he did in 2018 and hope to be signed by a team like Haas so that he can escape the Red Bull Programme altogether or be loaned off to another team for a season or two until he is ready for Red Bull. What I propose should happen is that Kvyat or Albon should be promoted to the big team while Gasly is back in the Toro Rosso alongside his teammate either Kvyat or Albon. Depending on results if he is beating his teammate he can save his career but if he is slower then he should lose his seat altogether or join a backmarker team.

I asked @max.verstappen333 about what she thought on the matter. "I think the move to Red Bull was too soon." I believe that she is correct although I also feel that with his exceptional performances demonstrated in 2018, he was the only driver In contention for the seat. She also raises the point that in Austria Gasly was lapped by Max even though the Dutchman had a "poor start", reflecting Helmut Marko's "unacceptable" comment. I fully agree with this point. Gasly had the opportunity that he so desperately needed after Verstappen's dreadful start, only to miss out when he allowed him to overtake him around the penultimate corner, not on the inside, but the outside! This does not seem like a man who can retain his seat for next year in my view.

Finally, M.V333 mentions that not only is Formula 1, a "hard sport", but is also a sport where you have to be "at the top of your game" and "the reality is that Gasly isn't at the moment." This is a very valid point, possibly suggesting that Gasly may not even have a place in F1 at all. It is a deadly sport which should only contain the best of the best. The question is, does Gasly come under this category?

In response to this, I also asked for an opinion from @formula.hybrid who claimed that Gasly is a "very good" driver who is struggling due to the RB15 not suiting him because the car is designed for Verstappen. Their driving style is "completely different" adding to Pierre's dismay. Whilst I agree that it is not the ideal situation for him, I strongly believe that the best drivers in the world should be able to adapt to cars that are not working for them, as Lewis Hamilton this year for example who has found the W10 very difficult at times but he is still leading the World Drivers Championship.

To finish, F.H believes that if Red Bull demote Gasly to Toro Rosso then he should try and escape the Red Bull Driver's Programme altogether whereas, if he is not dropped then he should remain in the top seat to try and show his worth. "I think that Red Bull should have just signed another driver outside of the Red Bull driver programme" last year when replacing Daniel Ricciardo. Personally, I am in agreement with this final point, however, on the contrary, Gasly showed exceptional performance last year finishing 4th in Bahrain, in a Toro Rosso with a Honda engine, so it would be difficult to keep him motivated if he wasn't given the opportunity that he has been given in 2019.