Will the birthday boy Gasly force a return to Red Bull Racing in 2022?

Pierre Gasly turns 26 today. The Frenchman is starting his fifth year in Formula 1 this year and it could well be a defining season for his career.

Short performance at Red Bull

At 26 and with four seasons in F1 behind him, Gasly can hardly be considered a "young talent" anymore. The Frenchman went through all the steps of Red Bull's training program and got his chance one of the best teams in motorsport. However, the road up the ladder suffered a major setback as Gasly was demoted after six months at Red Bull Racing.

Since his demotion in 2019, Gasly has had to make do with a spot at Toro Rosso/AlphaTauri, but he has handled that well. Whereas at Red Bull he didn't get on the podium a single time, he has already managed it three times at AlphaTauri, with a win in Italy in 2020.

The title dream

Before the 2022 season, Gasly didn't really seem to have a chance at the seat next to Max Verstappen. At Red Bull, they are very cautious about a possible return of the Frenchman in this regard. Although his performance at AlphaTauri speaks for itself, he seems to have thrown his toys out the pram at his brief appearance at Red Bull.

However, he is still within the Red Bull training program, so he can still make that move to Red Bull. Gasly is therefore all about getting everything out of himself in 2022 and showing what he can do one more time. If it's not Red Bull that picks him up, there might be another place available at a top team.