Pierre Gasly has made it clear to Red Bull that he won’t be willing to play a support role to Max Verstappen immediately in 2019.
After Carlos Sainz decided to replace Fernando Alonso at McLaren, the young Frenchman was the natural choice to step up alongside the Dutchman following Daniel Ricciardo’s surprise move to Renault for this season.
Strong results last year, including fourth in Bahrain, seventh in Monaco and sixth in Hungary, highlighted the potential Gasly has, and the 22-year-old is looking forward to testing himself against his new teammate.
“Being one of the best drivers right now will be a great challenge for me,” the last GP2 champion told Motorsport-Total of Verstappen.
“It will take some time for me to be competitive, but I am not here to be the number two driver, that’s not what I want or what I’m happy with.
“These things take some time, and Max is one of the fastest guys in the paddock, which is super exciting for me because it brings you to a higher level.
“For sure, I’ll be [getting] better over the course of the season.”
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Expectations at Red Bull are higher heading 2019 with the switch to Honda engine generating talk of a championship bid.
“If I have a car I can win with, I would like to [push for the title],” Gasly stated. “But if I have a car that is only good enough for the top five, that will be the goal.”