Pierre Gasly: Red Bull replace Daniel Ricciardo with Frenchman for 2019 season

Last updated on .From the section Formula 1comments250

Pierre Gasly
Pierre Gasly made his F1 debut with Toro Rosso last year

French driver Pierre Gasly will replace the departing Daniel Ricciardo at Red Bull next season, the Formula 1 team have announced.

The 22-year-old, who drives for Red Bull's junior team Toro Rosso, will line up alongside Max Verstappen.

Australian Ricciardo will leave for Renault at the end of this season.

"This incredible opportunity is another step forward in my ambition to win grands prix and compete for world championships," said Gasly.

He only made his F1 debut at the Malaysian Grand Prix last October, but has scored 26 points for Toro Rosso this year, with a best finish of fourth in Bahrain.

Red Bull have struggled for consistency this year, but have won three races - two by Ricciardo and one by Verstappen.

"Red Bull has always looked to fight for championships or victories and that's what I want," added Gasly.

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  • Comment posted by Joshyboyyy17, at 22:07 20 Aug 2018

    As much as I rate Verstappens speed I can't stand the guy. Scary to think how much of a tool he will be in 5 years given that at 20 he has no remorse for weaving under braking and putting other drivers in danger.

    Would love Gasly to upset the odds and beat him, even though it's wishful thinking

  • Comment posted by U16611327, at 20:51 20 Aug 2018

    With the best will in the World I cannot see MV being the best co driver for Gasly. I may be wrong but MV comes across as less than helpful.

  • Comment posted by Anti, at 21:23 20 Aug 2018

    You know you've got to laugh at the media meltdown over who was going to replace Daniel. It was always going to be Gasly. He is their young driver prodigy and was driving for Toro Rosso for good reason.

    I hope he does well in the senior team. Good luck to him.

  • Comment posted by Crawfish, at 21:07 20 Aug 2018

    Hoo boy. Don't know what to make of this. Good for him, more money and obviously a better car.

    But being a teammate with Verstappen? We shall see. As others have noted, it's not like MV will help in him any way.

    Oddly enough, I think Pierre is more mature than ol' Max!

  • Comment posted by Andrew, at 20:42 20 Aug 2018

    Two raw talents, get the feeling that he could've benefited from joining a team with a more senior driver from which to learn from, then again such an opportunity you'd be crazy not to take it

  • Comment posted by UK-Minardi-Fan, at 20:55 20 Aug 2018

    Pleased to see a top team investing in a young up-and-coming driver. It's about time youngsters got their chance, and cleared out some of the old timers who have had their shot.

    I wish Gasly the best of luck, and hope he can stand his ground against Verstappen

  • Comment posted by bigbangtwo, at 22:47 20 Aug 2018

    How many races before Verstappen takes Gasly out?

    2 or 3 I would say.

  • Comment posted by MikeyG, at 20:47 20 Aug 2018

    Hopefully he can "take it" to MV...of the top teams this is probably the best seat to be able to attack the theoretical team lead, none of the others allow it. Tasty :-)

  • Comment posted by JakeDC, at 08:16 21 Aug 2018

    Max is a good driver, but is not learning as he should. They are creating a monster.

  • Comment posted by LS, at 20:37 20 Aug 2018

    What a opportunity, but hopefully not too early going up against Max.

  • Comment posted by UK-Minardi-Fan, at 23:00 20 Aug 2018

    How will Max cope if Gasly is faster than him? Not very well I think

  • Comment posted by Mark Bennett, at 08:09 21 Aug 2018

    This is as it should be, Toro Rosso are the feeder team for Red Bull. It is good to see a Frenchman get a seat in a winning team.

  • Comment posted by jamesev, at 08:04 21 Aug 2018

    Smart move by RBR. If Gasly doesn't outperform Max then that's whats expected. If he does then it will force Max to up his game to justify being paid more than DR was. Plus it makes Toro Rosso attractive as it shows there is progression for drivers that do well and it doesn't matter if there's already an established drive in the RBR seat as they can be ousted

  • Comment posted by Stu, at 09:54 21 Aug 2018

    Good luck to Gasly. I think he is the best choice out of what Redbull have available and he has the potential to keep Max on his toes

  • Comment posted by All-singing All-dancing Crepe of the World, at 21:50 20 Aug 2018

    I was hoping Ferrari would have paid Red Bull to take Vettel back.

  • Comment posted by Fabby, at 20:48 20 Aug 2018

    I did wonder whether Red Bull would do with Raikkonen what they did with Coulthard (to essentially babysit a seat while others from their junior programme got more experience). Still, they've thrown Gasly in which shows great confidence in him and hopefully he will challenge Max next season. Will be interesting to see Toro Rosso's lineup next season given the issues they've had with Ticktum...

  • Comment posted by bkmeahan, at 01:23 21 Aug 2018

    Talented driver and not prone to crashing. Interesting to see when he and MV are fighting for position, which one blinks first.

  • Comment posted by Establishing a bigger gap at the top every week, at 21:05 20 Aug 2018

    Can't help feeling this is a season too early for Gasly, but he definitely seems like a talented driver. Just hope he doesn't end up getting burned like Kvyat

  • Comment posted by U16611327, at 20:54 20 Aug 2018

    I cannot see MV being very helpful or sympathetic to his co-driver.

  • Comment posted by iDominic, at 22:47 20 Aug 2018

    @37 rasher
    F1 where drivers make damp cardboard look charismatic and full of personality

    =

    You should see the abuse that Lewis Hamilton gets for doing things - having a celebrity lifestyle - outside of F1

    He is hardly devoid of personality or charisma, given how much some people hate him and everything he does

    Good luck to Gasly. Hopefully, he'll stay calm and score points

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