Pierre Gasly lucky to be at Red Bull with lack of candidates - Villeneneuve

Former Formula 1 world champion Jacques Villeneuve believes Red Bull Racing driver Pierre Gasly is lucky to still be with the team after an underwhelming start to the season and is has much to do with the lack of candidates for the seat.

Gasly will be allowed until the end of the season at least, Helmut Marko confirmed, but even with the additional time allowed, Villeneuve believes this won't be a sufficient amount of time for the former Toro Rosso man.

"It's more than difficult," the 1997 world champion said to Motorsport.com on Gasly's situation at Red Bull. "He's really, really far away, he's not where he should be, it's hard, Max (Verstappen) was leading the race, and he was sixth or seventh, behind the two Toro Rosso. 

"He was unlucky because (Alex) Albon went overboard and Albon should be punished for his maneuver."

Gasly referred back to his impressive performance at Silverstone when questionned about his display in Germany, but Villeneuve doesn't believe his performances will make a U-Turn anytime soon.

"Why should it turn out?" Villeneuve asks. "He's lucky to be here again, Red Bull and Helmut Marko have been much more aggressive with their drivers in the past, and it just shows that they do not see anyone emerging in their ranks, so they do not know by who will replace it."