A significant anniversary in the career of Pierre Gasly. In Belgium he started in his 100th Grand Prix

For the Rouen native, this year’s Belgian GP was his jubilee. It was his 100th race in the queen of motorsport and he celebrated it with a great performance. After starting from pit lane, he fought his way through the field to finish ninth.

100 starts, 327 points, 3 podiums and 1 win. These are Pierre Gasly’s statistics in Formula One. For a driver who spent most of his career with an incompetent team, impressive numbers indeed.

The 2016 GP2 champion began his Formula 1 career during the 2017 season. He replaced Daniil Kvyat in the Toro Rosso stable starting with the Malaysian GP. Although he didn’t score a point from five races, the team saw talent in him and decided to keep him for next season.

To Red Bull and back

In his first full season in F1, the French driver improved his performance significantly. With twenty-nine points, he finished fifteenth in the drivers’ championship. His teammate Brendon Hartley scored only four points.

It played into Gasly’s hands that Daniel Ricciardo decided to leave Red Bull after the 2018 season. Gasly was the main candidate to take his place. The Frenchman thus formed the youngest pairing on the grid with Verstappen in 2019.

For the young driver, a dream come true quickly became a nightmare. After twelve races, Gasly’s best finish was fourth, while Verstappen had five podiums, one pole position and two wins.

From race thirteen, Alex Albon replaced Gasly at Red Bull, while the Frenchman headed back to Toro Rosso. But even the Thai driver failed to stand on the podium for the rest of the season.

Another, much bigger blow came at the Belgian circuit in Spa. During the Formula 2 race, Gasly’s close friend Anthione Hubert tragically died.

A second chance at Toro Rosso, first time on the podium

After returning to sister team Red Bull, Gasly returned to strong performances. Before the end of the year, he was still on the podium, finishing second to Max Verstappen after a chaotic end to the Brazilian GP.

Then the unthinkable happened in the 2020 season. At Monza in Italy, the Frenchman took the lead, which he held from lap 28 to the finish. For his team, newly renamed AlphaTauri, it is the only victory to date. Gasly ended 2020 in tenth place in the Drivers’ Cup with 75 points.

Last season, Gasly built a reputation as a fast and consistent driver. He regularly fought his way into the third qualifying position and scored points in 16 of the 19 races he completed, with his best result coming in Baku, where he finished third.

The 26-year-old Piot is under contract with AplhaTauri until 2023. However, there is a clause in his contract that allows Gasly to leave for a stable that finishes ahead of AlphaTauri in the Constructors’ Cup.

The Italian stable currently has just 29 points, which is only good enough for eighth place. Gasly can then negotiate for a place in every team except Williams and Aston Martin. There is already speculation about Gasly’s move to Alpine.

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