Pierre Gasly believes his disastrous 2019 stint with Red Bull will inspire him to sustain a greater degree of success as he embarks on a new chapter in Formula 1 with Alpine this season.
Gasly was promoted to Red Bull prematurely after only one full year’s worth of experience in the sport, but his time there proved to be short-lived as the French driver struggled greatly and he was subsequently dropped at the summer break.
Following three years with Red Bull’s sister team AlphaTauri, formerly known as Toro Rosso, where he performed to a high standard, Gasly was successfully selected as Alpine’s candidate to replace the outgoing Fernando Alonso for 2023.
The one-time race winner believes the harsh lessons he learnt from his failed stint with the energy drink squad will stand him in better stead to achieve success with the Enstone outfit and comparisons shouldn’t be drawn between the two respective moves.
“It feels like it was an eternity ago that I was with Red Bull, and since then, so much has happened, professionally and personally” Gasly explained to Motorsport.com at the end of last season.
“I really feel like I’ve developed in all areas. I remember when I came in Red Bull, the feeling that I had going there, and now the feeling, my approach and mindset that I have going into Alpine, is completely different.
“I have a lot clearer ideas. I think it’s more like clarity in my mind on what’s needed to perform, and what’s needed to be competitive.
“I [want to] mainly use that experience that I’ve gathered with AlphaTauri, in good and bad times, and gathered the experience that I learned in Red Bull to make the best out of this opportunity with Alpine.
“I’m a lot more confident that this is going to be very successful, I have no doubt about it. 2019, even if you think it’s only three years ago, I think personally I’ve evolved a lot.”
Gasly’s good relationship with Red Bull motorsport advisor, Helmut Marko, enabled him to be released from his AlphaTauri contract before the turn of the year and meant he was able to test Alpine’s 2021 car, the A521, at the annual post-season test in Abu Dhabi.
Although there will be limited running in pre-season for Gasly to get up to speed in his new surroundings, he has resolved to do everything he can to be most prepared for the upcoming season, while also allowing himself to keep an “open mind” as to what could lie ahead.
“For sure, it’s not going to give a lot of time before the season starts, but I’ll do all the prep that is needed and at the end of the day, I know I can adapt quickly,” Gasly expressed.
“I’ve done it in the past. I just need to be aware that things might be very different. It might not be. It might feel quite natural straight away. It might not feel natural straightaway.
“But it’s very important to come with an open mind.”
Keyword: Failed Red Bull stint ‘completely different’ to Alpine move – Gasly