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Pierre Gasly Will Consider “All Options” Beyond 2023, Do We Hear McLaren Wedding Bells?

It didn’t take long for somebody to stick a microphone in Pierre Gasly’s face after Red Bull decided to extend Sergio Perez’s contract until the end of 2024, and sure enough, the AlphaTauri driver had a predictable response.
Scuderia AlphaTauri driver Pierre Gasly 6 photos
Photo: Scuderia AlphaTauri / Twitter
Scuderia AlphaTauri driver Pierre GaslyScuderia AlphaTauri driver Pierre GaslyScuderia AlphaTauri driver Pierre GaslyScuderia AlphaTauri driver Pierre GaslyScuderia AlphaTauri driver Pierre Gasly
Gasly had been hoping to make his way back to Red Bull from AlphaTauri, where he still has one year left on his contract. What’s going to happen after that is pretty much anyone’s guess right now.

When asked by Motorsport whether he, as a highly rated driver, feels as though he’s now in a strong position within the driver market, Gasly stated the following: “I don’t know if you can call that a strong position. But at the moment, for sure, beyond 2023, I consider all options, as I don’t have anything beyond that.”

“So, for now, it’s, we’ll see. These are things we need to discuss with Helmut [Marko]. Obviously, they want to keep me, and they want to keep me in the program. But as I say, we need to see how to make this work, and just normal conversations are ongoing.”

What’s interesting is that with Daniel Ricciardo’s long-term prospects at McLaren now in doubt, Gasly has emerged as a contender for the seat in 2024. If that were to happen, Gasly would line up alongside Lando Norris to form a young and extremely talented duo.

Even today, we’re not sure that any team principal on the grid would rather have Ricciardo instead of Gasly – which means McLaren will surely be monitoring this situation too.

As for what Gasly thinks about that whole Perez situation, he’s apparently fine with it, claiming that he understands why Red Bull committed to Perez for another two years.

“To me, it’s logical,” said Gasly. “It’s not like it was a surprise because I’m a very objective person. And based on what they expect from the second driver, Perez ticks all the boxes.”

“He is doing an amazing season. He’s performing very well this season. He’s fast, some backing financially, good experience, and he’s a good fit for the team.”

Gasly did however acknowledge that Red Bull going with Perez instead of him will have an obvious impact on his career, as far as his ambitions are concerned. Also, did he just call Perez a “second driver”? Yep, I believe that he did. How subtle of him.
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About the author: Sergiu Tudose
Sergiu Tudose profile photo

Sergiu got to experience both American and European car "scenes" at an early age (his father drove a Ford Fiesta XR2 supermini in the 80s). After spending over 15 years at local and international auto publications, he's starting to appreciate comfort behind the wheel more than raw power and acceleration.
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