Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko has warned Pierre Gasly he will be demoted if results don’t meet expectation.
Despite a solid first full season at Toro Rosso with five top-10 finishes, including a fourth in Bahrain, Red Bull admit the Frenchman’s promotion is premature having been forced upon them by Daniel Ricciardo’s exit to Renault.
There have been assurances by the team to Gasly that he’ll be given a little time to settle but the notoriously ruthless Marko suggested that window won’t last long.
“Pierre Gasly will be under scrutiny because that’s the way Formula 1 is,” he was quoted by GPFans.com.
“It’s the same in football. If you don’t perform, you go to the bench.
“Gasly has proved he is fast, now we have to teach him a little more discipline,” Marko added. “But he gets a lot of support from the team, and we’re sure he’ll make it.”
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Not helping matters for the 22-year-old is he’ll be up against one of the toughest teammates on the grid in Max Verstappen, though the Dutchman is full of praise for his new partner.
“When it became clear that Ricciardo was going to Renault, it was obvious that Pierre would come,” he told Speed Week.
“He is a great guy. I’ve known him from karting. He is straightforward, smart, nice — you cannot ask for more.”