Red Bull appear unwilling to offer Pierre Gasly a way out of AlphaTauri despite potential interest from other teams.
The Frenchman has once again been a strong performer in a midfield car, qualifying in the top six in seven of the first nine races, with his standout finish being third in Baku.
Gasly’s impressive form over a prolonged period led to rumours of a possible escape from the Red Bull program to Alpine before Esteban Ocon’s new contract closed off that option.
But when it comes to where he’ll be in 2022, the 26-year-old admits his hands are somewhat tied.
“My future, I think it’s still quite early,” Gasly said recently.
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“On my side, things are in the hands of Red Bull. At the end of the day, it will be up to them to decide whether we continue together, continue with AlphaTauri, with Red Bull, or other options, and there is interest [from other teams].
“It’s something that at the moment we haven’t really talked yet. I guess we will see in the coming weeks and the coming months what we want to do.”
According to the latest comments from Red Bull advisor and head of their young driver program Helmut Marko, however, Gasly looks set to stay put for another year.
“He’s always on top of his game and in top form,” he told Auto Motor und Sport.
“With AlphaTauri, the package fits perfectly. The combination is a great fit.
“We still have a contract that goes for two more years, I don’t know where the talk about Renault came from again.
“Pierre is the ideal ambassador for AlphaTauri as the fashionable Frenchman, but what is strong is his performance in the car.
“He lost power in the race in Baku, so the fact he kept [Charles] Leclerc behind him was quite a great performance.”