Gasly on 'funny' rumours: "Situation at Red Bull was already clear"

Pierre Gasly was linked with a move to several other teams in Formula 1 during the first half of the season. AlphaTauri, however, put an end to all the rumours by announcing at the end of June that Gasly will drive for the team from Faenza in 2023. The Frenchman himself can laugh about all the reports he has seen.

Helmut Marko never made it a secret that Gasly already held a Red Bull contract for 2023. It was therefore almost certain that the 26-year-old would be driving for Red Bull Racing or AlphaTauri next year. Yet it was never quiet about Gasly.

Future Gasly clear

"It was quite funny to see, because my situation at Red Bull was already clear, I still had a one-year contract with them," Gasly told Motorsport.com. He says he understands why there were so many rumours. While Sergio Perez' s contract extension at Red Bull was publicly announced at the end of May, it took another four weeks for Gasly to be confirmed by AlphaTauri.

Gasly suspects that the rumours surrounding his name started because it was not entirely clear to the outside world what Red Bull's plans were for him. Gasly then spoke to Helmut Marko during the Azerbaijan Grand Prix weekend and not long after, the one-time Grand Prix winner was presented as a 2023 driver with his current employer.

Gasly's contract with Red Bull and AlphaTauri expires after next season. After that he is free to move to another team in the premier class of motor racing. Red Bull have recently indicated that they will not block a switch. The Austrian team also has no room for Perez, who is still under contract there in 2024.