Formula 1: Red Bull Racing driver decision down to two drivers

Red Bull Racing’s second driver selection for the 2019 Formula 1 season will likely come down to either Pierre Gasly or Carlos Sainz Jr.

Aston Martin Red Bull Racing’s Daniel Ricciardo made a shocking decision last Friday to sign a two-year contract to drive for Renault Sport starting in the 2019 Formula 1 season. He has driven for Red Bull Racing since the 2014 season.

This means that Red Bull Racing need to hire a second driver to replace the 29-year-old Australian and to become a teammate to 20-year-old Max Verstappen, who the team signed last fall to a contract extension through the 2020 season.

Several possible replacement candidates have emerged for the seven-time Grand Prix winner at Red Bull Racing, including two-time Formula 1 champion Fernando Alonso, who currently drives for McLaren.

However, when discussing his opinion that signing Alonso likely would not be a healthy move for the team, Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner revealed who the two most likely candidates are to take Ricciardo’s place.

As a result, it is pretty safe to say that the decision for the Milton Keynes-based team as to who Verstappen’s teammate will be next season and perhaps even beyond next season will come down to these two drivers.

Here is what Horner had to say about the matter when discussing the fact that Red Bull Racing are not likely to sign Alonso, according to Motorsport.com.

"“I’ve got huge respect for Fernando, he’s a great, fantastic driver, but it would be very difficult to see. He’s tended to cause a bit of chaos wherever he’s gone. I’m not sure it would be the healthiest thing for the team for Fernando to join. Our preference would be to continue to invest in youth than take a driver who is obviously close to the end of his career.“We’re fortunate that we’ve got several drivers under contract that are great talents. I think we’re going to sit back and evaluate what the situation is, see what comes out. It’s an incredibly attractive car to be driving, I don’t think we’re going to be short of requests and offers.“I think we’ll look at everything. The preferred route will be to invest, as has been so successful, in home talent. [Sebastian] Vettel, Verstappen, Ricciardo, Sainz, Gasly – they are all products of the junior programme that have delivered for us.“Both of those guys [Sainz and Gasly] are very quick drivers so I think this just gives us opportunity to take a breath. They’re under contract anyway till the end of the summer or beyond. We’ll look at the options available to us and make sure we make the right decision for the team.”"

Pierre Gasly, 22, currently drives for Scuderia Toro Rosso, and Carlos Sainz Jr., 23, currently drives for Renault. As Horner stated, they are both youth who are products of the Red Bull Racing junior program, and they have delivered for the team during their time within the organization.

Gasly made his first five career Formula 1 starts last season as the replacement driver for Daniil Kvyat, who no longer drives in Formula 1, at Toro Rosso. The 22-year-old Frenchman made these five starts in the six-race span to close out the 2017 season.