Buxton: "Twelve races at the top didn't seem enough"

Formula 1 journalist Will Buxton looks at the drivers who made the most impression in 2020. A fairly striking name rolls out of that: Pierre Gasly. The Frenchman made virtually no mistakes in the first six Grands Prix of the year.

Degradation

Buxton says in his column on F1.com that Red Bull Racing's return to Toro Rosso last season has been a hard blow for Gasly. This has dented his confidence. "Even at the time his demotion to Toro Rosso felt unduly harsh and premature", says Buxton.

"Twelve races at the top table didn’t seem anywhere near enough time to get himself comfortable, let alone to a place of being able to consistently compete with a racer in Max Verstappen who was quickly becoming not only the focal point of the team, but every bit one of the most complete and accomplished drivers in the field", Buxton continues.

Has Red Bull learned?

After returning to Toro Rosso, however, Gasly came back hard with second place in Brazil as the highlight. Now it's Alexander Albon who's feeling the pressure at Red Bull. "Have Red Bull truly learnt their lesson? Are they now prepared to give the undoubtedly talented Thai racer the time and the support he needs to extract that which everyone knows he is capable?", Buxton asks.

"Red Bull chose him for a reason. One year ago, it appears they may have temporarily forgotten what that was. But today, and to an ever growing number of those within this sport, that reason has never looked clearer", concludes Buxton.