派rre Gasly discusses value of Red Bull woes that he wishes ‘would have never happened’

While he wishes it had never happened in the first place, Pierre Gasly has at least seen the positives of his early Red Bull exit.

The story of Gasly at Red Bull is a well-known one with the Frenchman receiving the nod to move up and partner Max Verstappen at the team only to be back in the Toro Rosso just 13 races later.

From there, Gasly has been on a mission to rebuild his reputation in the sport and one win and two podiums has certainly helped to do that.

So it was no surprise to see Alpine opt for Gasly when they found themselves with a Fernando Alonso-shaped hole in their 2023 driver line-up and speaking during the launch of the A523, Gasly said he believed the Red Bull experience had helped him become the driver he is today.

“As much as I wish this would have never happened, I think it’s been definitely a very useful and positive experience,” Gasly told media, as per RacingNews365.com.

“[It has been helpful in] not repeating the similar mistakes, and just being a lot more aware of the requirements [of] moving to a new team.”

With more experience under his belt and increased maturity, a repeat of the Red Bull affair at Alpine seems unlikely and Gasly has commented that he already has a much better feeling than he did at his previous team.

“I’m not going to lie, it’s definitely a much better feeling and much more exciting feeling,” he told media including PlanetF1.com.

“I take this very seriously and I’m a very competitive person and I really hope that we’re going to be able to carry the momentum they have had over the last year and close the gap to the front three during this year.”

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Alpine switch final part of Pierre Gasly redemption arc

Gasly is not the first and most likely not the last to find himself dumped out of the Red Bull seat but he is perhaps the best example of landing on your feet.

Since his demotion following the 2019 Hungarian Grand Prix, Gasly has established himself as not just a driver deserving to be on the grid but perhaps one at the top end of the ‘best of the rest’ category.

When Gasly lined up for Toro Rosso at the 2019 Belgian Grand Prix, few would have predicted then that he would earn another shot at a works outfit, but his performances over the last three years have been consistent enough to raise his stock to the point that Alpine placed him under consideration.

The Red Bull move no doubt came too early in Gasly’s career and with the impossibly high example of Verstappen to compare to, it was too much too soon for the Frenchman but the Alpine move is the final step in the redemption arc of the race winner.

Now is the time for Gasly to prove that he deserves a spot at the upper end of the grid.