Formula 1: Top 5 replacement candidates for Daniel Ricciardo at Red Bull Racing
By Asher Fair
Pierre Gasly
Pierre Gasly, 22, is in his first full season as a Formula 1 driver, and he drives for Scuderia Toro Rosso, the Red Bull Racing junior team. He drove for the team as the replacement for Daniil Kvyat in five of the last six races of the 2017 season as well.
In his first season as a full-time Formula 1 driver, Gasly has performed at an impressive level, especially given the fact that this season is also the first season during which Toro Rosso have used Honda engines, so him replacing Daniel Ricciardo at Red Bull Racing next year is certainly a good possibility.
In just the second race of the season, the Bahrain Grand Prix, Gasly finished in fourth place, which is higher than any result of any McLaren driver from the 2015 season through the 2017 season when they used Honda engines before switching to Renault engines ahead of the 2018 season, something they did only because Toro Rosso switched from Renault engines to Honda engines.
Gasly has recorded three top seven finishes through 12 races so far this season, and he sits in 13th place in the driver standings with 26 points as a result of it. In addition to his fourth place finish in the Bahrain Grand Prix, he finished in sixth in the Hungarian Grand Prix and seventh in the Monaco Grand Prix.
Meanwhile, Gasly’s teammate, Brendon Hartley, has just two 10th place finishes and two points to show for it this season. He sits in 19th in the driver standings. Gasly is clearly the better of the two Toro Rosso drivers, and his far superior performances in equal equipment compared to Hartley shows it.
With Red Bull Racing switching from Renault engines to Honda engines in the 2019 season, it may be good for them to hire a driver who has prior experience driving a Honda-powered car, and Gasly fits that description. Add to that the fact that he is already within the Red Bull Racing organization, and it would make perfect sense for him to replace Ricciardo next year.
But Gasly isn’t the only driver with Honda experience who has a chance to replace Ricciardo in 2019.