Formula One: Pierre Gasly to drive for Toro Rosso in 2018
By Asher Fair
Pierre Gasly will be returning to drive for Scuderia Toro Rosso in the 2018 Formula One season after driving in several races for the team this season.
Pierre Gasly, 21, will be returning to Formula One as a full-time driver for Scuderia Toro Rosso, the Red Bull Racing junior team, in the 2018 season after making several appearances in races throughout the latter part of this season for the team.
Gasly made his first Formula One appearance for Toro Rosso this season as the replacement driver for Daniil Kvyat in the Malaysia Grand Prix, the 15th race of the 20-race season. He finished in 14th in that race and drove again for the team in the Japanese Grand Prix, where he finished in 13th.
Gasly was replaced by Kvyat in the United States Grand Prix since he needed to be in Japan for the Japanese Super Formula championship races, which ended up being canceled. After the United States Grand Prix, Toro Rosso and Kvyat officially cut ties, and Gasly was announced as one of the team’s two drivers for the rest of the 2017 season.
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The other driver, Brendon Hartley, who has also only driven in a few races for the team this season, will also be returning to the team as a full-time driver in 2018.
In the two races that Gasly has driven in for Toro Rosso since the team cut ties with Kvyat, he has finished in 13th and 12th place, with the former result coming in the Mexican Grand Prix and the latter result coming in the Brazilian Grand Prix. Through his four career Formula One starts, his results have either stayed the same or gotten better; they have never gotten worse.
Toro Rosso will be switching to Honda engines from Renault engines next season, as McLaren, the lone Formula One team currently powered by Honda engines, will be the third and final Renault-powered team in 2018.
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How will Pierre Gasly fare as a full-time Formula One driver for the first time in the 2018 season? Where will he end up in the final drivers standings? If he does well enough, could he possibly replace Daniel Ricciardo at Red Bull Racing in the 2019 season after Ricciardo’s contract expires following the conclusion of the 2018 season?