Pierre Gasly’s lack of experience will likely make the team dynamic easier at Red Bull this season, according to Christian Horner.
Following a solid first full season with Toro Rosso, the Frenchman was chosen to step up alongside Max Verstappen at the senior outfit following Daniel Ricciardo’s decision to join Renault for 2019.
Expectations for how he’ll fare against the Dutchman are quite low, however, even from his new team boss.
“I think Pierre is a very quick driver and it is up to us to give him a little bit of time to get up to speed,” Horner told Motorsport.com.
After several years of having to manage two very competitive drivers equally though, the Briton admits Gasly’s settling in period might be beneficial for Red Bull.
“It [his promotion] is faster than we would have originally liked to elevate him into the team, so Max will be very much taking on the role of the experienced senior driver and Pierre is going to have to go up against a very competitive teammate,” he claimed.
“It is not going to be easy. Of course, it is not. But he knows what is expected of him. In actual fact, for the team, it is a far easier scenario than it has been in previous years where we have got a clear difference between the experience in the two drivers and the expectations.”
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Gasly has acknowledged he’ll be doing all he can to keep up with Verstappen but has also made it clear he won’t go to Red Bull solely to be a number two to the 21-year-old.
Dutch TV pundit and former driver Robert Doornbos was quite dismissive of the 2016 GP2 champion though.
“Pierre said that he is not coming to Red Bull to be the second driver, but I think it’s better to stay quiet,” he told Ziggo Sport.
“He has a chance to be in the top team, but at the moment for him, I think it’s better not to attract too much attention because he has no chance next to Verstappen.
“Of course, there are not many drivers in the paddock who would like to be Max’s teammate. Lewis Hamilton can talk about it, but it won’t happen.”