{"id":359158,"date":"2025-12-21T06:00:14","date_gmt":"2025-12-21T06:00:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/359158\/"},"modified":"2025-12-21T06:00:14","modified_gmt":"2025-12-21T06:00:14","slug":"there-was-no-support-when-i-raced-for-red-bull","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/359158\/","title":{"rendered":"“There was no support” when I raced for Red Bull"},"content":{"rendered":"

Pierre Gasly was the first in a wave of drivers to struggle at Red Bull alongside Max Verstappen<\/a>. The Frenchman was replaced halfway through his first Red Bull campaign, marking the beginning of an extended spell at the second team.<\/p>\n

Since then, Gasly has managed to establish himself as Alpine\u2019s main driver. In what has been a turbulent spell for the Enstone squad, the 29-year-old has been a rare source of stability.<\/p>\n

Still, his time at Red Bull was Gasly\u2019s only opportunity to compete in race-winning machinery. From his perspective, the Milton Keynes outfit failed to provide any support.<\/p>\n

\"\"Pierre Gasly in Sao Paulo, Brazil. (Photo by Sam Bloxham\/LAT Images)
\nGasly reflects on failed Red Bull stint<\/p>\n

Isack Hadjar will be the next candidate to try and hold their own against Verstappen. The fresh set of regulations in 2026 are seen as a golden opportunity to give the youngster a chance of performing.<\/p>\n

Moreover, with Laurent Mekies<\/a> now team principal, Red Bull are expected to be more attentive to their second driver.<\/p>\n

It should not be overlooked that Mekies was very confident in Tsunoda\u2019s abilities \u2013 having spent a year working with the Japanese driver when he was in charge of VCARB.<\/p>\n

In many ways, the 48-year-old arrived too late to give Tsunoda<\/a> the support he needed. By the time he took the helm at Red Bull, the 25-year-old has completed half the season with old components that were significantly slower than Verstappen\u2019s.<\/p>\n

Of course, this is not the only example of a second driver struggling at Red Bull<\/a>.<\/p>\n

As Verstappen\u2019s first teammate after Daniel Ricciardo\u2019s exit, there was very little understanding when Gasly found himself so far adrift.<\/p>\n

Since then, the narrative about the Frenchman\u2019s Red Bull spell has become more forgiving. Regardless, it cannot be said the #10 car enjoyed its time at the senior team.<\/p>\n

Speaking in a recent interview, Gasly detailed some of the problems he faced with the team:<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not going to lie, it was sad,\u201d he said on Off The Grid.<\/p>\n

\u201c2019, my second year in Formula 1 \u2013 there was no support from anywhere, in a very big team which is very much supporting Max [Verstappen]. For good reasons, because he\u2019s put on the results.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I\u2019m starting with a fresh engineer coming from Formula E, who didn\u2019t have experience in F1. So it was a strange dynamic.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wasn\u2019t really given the tools to really perform. I tried to fight my own way because I wanted \u2013 and at the end of the day I\u2019m there to \u2013 perform.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey were not happy, but I\u2019m not happy too because I could see I couldn\u2019t show my potential.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Pierre Gasly in Budapest, Hungary. (Photo by Zak Mauger\/LAT Images) \/\/ Getty Images \/ Red Bull Content Pool
\nEyes on Alpine to deliver<\/p>\n

The last twelve months have been difficult for Gasly to swallow, with Alpine finishing 2025 last in the standings. The 28-year-old was the only points scorer at Alpine this season, emphasising his importance at the team.<\/p>\n

From Gasly\u2019s perspective, the new regulations will determine Alpine\u2019s true potential.<\/p>\n

Having undergone many structural changes, 2026 is the first opportunity to see if they have paid dividends. The team\u2019s switch to Mercedes engines<\/a>, for example, was justified as the best chance to be competitive with the new regulations.<\/p>\n

Because of this, there will be no excuse if the French squad fails to produce a strong car. Should they again languish at the back of the field, Gasly might be one of the drivers active in the market.<\/p>\n

READ MORE: Why big teams will be vulnerable at the start of F1 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Main photo: Rudy Carezzevoli\/Getty Images (Red Bull Content Pool)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Pierre Gasly was the first in a wave of drivers to struggle at Red Bull alongside Max Verstappen.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":359159,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[441],"tags":[154866,1035,49,48,578,125958,576,577,154867,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-359158","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-formula-1","8":"tag-a525","9":"tag-alpine","10":"tag-ca","11":"tag-canada","12":"tag-f1","13":"tag-f1-2026-season","14":"tag-formula-1","15":"tag-formula1","16":"tag-gasly","17":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/359158","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=359158"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/359158\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/359159"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=359158"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=359158"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=359158"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}