Gasly to rely on qualifying to stay in contention

Pierre Gasly believes having a fast teammate is always good for comparison as the Frenchman prepares to line up alongside Max Verstappen at Red Bull in 2019.

The new Red Bull driver raced for Toro Rosso last season and has replaced the Renault bound, Daniel Ricciardo.

Verstappen has become one of the top drivers on the grid since being promoted to Red Bull in 2016 and won two grand prix last season.

Speaking to Autosport Gasly spoke about using his teammate as a marker, saying: “I think Max at the moment, based on the performance he showed last year he's clearly - it's difficult to compare with Lewis [Hamilton] or Seb [Vettel] - but he's clearly one of the best and most talented guys in the paddock at the moment.

"I'm sure it's going to be useful for myself to keep learning in Formula 1 and achieve a better performance for myself and I always find it good to have a fast team-mate because that's how you manage to extract the best of yourself as well,” said Gasly.

Gasly will be very inexperienced compared to the rest of the leading pack but wants to use qualifying as a way to boost his chances.

"We all know that if you have a good starting position, it makes the race a lot easier, and I think that's one of my strengths.”