It has been confirmed that Pierre Gasly will remain at AlphaTauri for the 2021 season.
- Pierre Gasly will continue to race for Scuderia AlphaTauri next season.
- The 24-year-old took his first victory in a shock result at AlphaTauri's home Grand Prix at Monza.
- The Faenza-based team are yet to announce the identity of the Frenchman's teammate for the 2021 season.
Scuderia AlphaTauri announced today that they would be retaining race-winner, Pierre Gasly for next season. The Frenchman has reached new highs since his return to the Red Bull sister team halfway through the 2019 season.
Team Principal, Franz Tost expressed how pleased he was that Gasly would be continuing with them in 2021:
“I’m delighted that Pierre will remain with us for the 2021 season. He has been part of the Red Bull driver pool for many years and I hope he will remain in the Red Bull family for many seasons ahead.
"Since he came back to the team last year, he consistently showed extremely good performances achieving two podiums, with a second place in Brazil in 2019 and a win at the team’s home race at this year’s Italian Grand Prix.
"Pierre has proven to be highly competitive also thanks to his great race craft, extracting the car’s potential at every race and giving valuable feedback to his engineers. He is mentally very strong, he is always motivated and when he sets a goal he gives it his all to achieve it. I’m looking forward to extending this cooperation and having a successful 2021 season together.”
After the formal announcement was made, Pierre took to social media to express his excitement about continuing with the team, teasing that "the best is yet to come."
There is no question that Gasly has been one of the shining stars of 2020, and while his shock race win at Monza was very special indeed, his consistency and racecraft throughout this season has been impeccable. The relationship with the team unsurprisingly appears to be very strong, which the Frenchman alluded to while sharing his delight at continuing with the team:
“This year is going very well, and we are on track to have our most successful season in the team’s history. I feel we have a very strong relationship, we have managed to take every opportunity that’s come our way, the best one at the Italian Grand Prix.
"Winning my first Formula 1 race in Monza was a very special moment for me, and it was made extra sweet to deliver a second win in the team’s history, so I’m very proud of that.”
It is of course a team that he knows very well given that he started his Formula One career with them in 2017, while the Red Bull sister team was still named Toro Rosso. He was promoted to the senior team for the 2019 season, but only completed 12 races with Red Bull before he was moved back to Faenza, after being outshone by Max Verstappen.
Gasly has clearly had to dig deep in the last year, but the fruits of his labour are beginning to show. His 2020 campaign has been superb, and winning his team their first Grand Prix victory in over a decade is the icing on the cake. He has firmly established himself as a team leader, and is well positioned to bring Alpha Tauri towards the front of the midfield.
It is yet to be seen who will partner Gasly in 2021, although the shortlist is not particularly long. One would think the man currently in the seat, Daniil Kvyat still has a chance to prove himself, although he has been outclassed by his teammate this year, and Gasly's early confirmation only compounds this.
Another driver with a good chance at the seat is Red Bull junior, Yuki Tsunoda. The Japanese F4 champion is currently racing for Carlin in F2, and has taken two race wins, five podiums and three pole positions. Placed 3rd in the drivers championship, he still has an outside chance at taking top honours, but there would be no shame in finishing third to Ferrari juniors, Mick Schumacher and Callum Ilott.
Of course there is also the very real possibility of Alexander Albon being moved back to AlphaTauri, like his predecessor, Gasly. Verstappen has outpaced Albon in a similar way to how he did Gasly in 2019, which led to Albon's promotion to Red Bull in the first place.
Whoever fills the seat, they will have a very tough time going up against Pierre Gasly, a Formula One race winner.