Marko: Gasly "would have never recovered" staying at Red Bull
F1 News
- Nicolás Quarles van Ufford
After reviving his F1 career in spectacular fashion at Toro Rosso, Aston Martin Red Bull Racing advisor Dr Helmut thinks Pierre Gasly needed the step down for the sake of his career.
After massively struggling the first half of the season in the Red Bull next to Max Verstappen, Gasly has gotten back to best since his demotion back to Toro Rosso. The Frenchman has consistently been in the points and even scored a podium at the Brazilian Grand Prix for the Faenza-based team.
He never managed that while driving the superior RB15, which speaks volumes to how comfortable the 23-year-old is back at his old team.
Speaking to Motorsport.com, Marko explained why the demotion to Toro Rosso was necessary for Gasly's own sake, as he doesn't think this uptick in performance would've happened at Red Bull.
“He’s recovered, and now we see the real Pierre,” the Austrian explained. “We always believed in him. It was positive for him, otherwise at Red Bull Racing I think he never would have recovered.”
Gasly's worst moment was at the Austrian Grand Prix when he got lapped by Verstappen despite driving the same car, with the Dutchman going on to take his first win of the season.
“It was not so easy for him this season, but he came back,” Toro Rosso team principal Franz Tost continued. “I think Pierre from the very beginning onwards felt quite well in the car, and in the team of course.
"We knew each other, the engineers knew him, and this helped. And our car at this point was easy to drive.”