Formula 1: Pierre Gasly to replace Daniel Ricciardo at Red Bull Racing in 2019

Pierre Gasly is set to replace Daniel Ricciardo and become a teammate to Max Verstappen at Red Bull Racing in the 2019 Formula 1 season.

The first major blockbuster move involving a new driver joining one of the three top-tier Formula 1 teams for next season has been confirmed. Scuderia Toro Rosso’s Pierre Gasly is set to replace Daniel Ricciardo at Aston Martin Red Bull Racing in the 2019 Formula 1 season, just as previously speculated.

Ricciardo made a shocking announcement almost two and a half weeks ago that he will be leaving Red Bull Racing after the 2018 season concludes, and he signed a two-year contract to drive for Renault Sport starting next year.

Gasly, 22, is set to become a teammate to 20-year-old Max Verstappen, the four-time Grand Prix winner who is in his fourth full-time Formula 1 season, his third season driving for Red Bull Racing and his second season driving full-time for the Milton Keynes-based team.

Gasly confirmed this news on Twitter.

Here is what the 22-year-old Frenchman had to say about the matter, according to Sky Sports.

"“I’m so excited to be joining this top team. It has been my goal to race for this team since I joined the Red Bull Junior Driver Programme in 2013, and this incredible opportunity is another step forward in my ambition to win Grands Prix and compete for World Championships. Red Bull has always looked to fight for championships or victories and that’s what I want. I’m a really competitive guy and when I do something it’s always to fight for the best and top positions.”"

Gasly is currently in his first full season in Formula 1, but he really picked up where he left off at the end of last season. In five of the last six races of last season, he replaced Daniil Kvyat at Toro Rosso before it was confirmed that he would replace Kvyat full-time in the 2018 season.

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Gasly has been extremely impressive through the first 12 races of this season. He sits in 13th place in the driver standings with 26 points, and he has consistently outperformed teammate Brendon Hartley, who is also in his first Formula 1 season after he replaced Carlos Sainz Jr. at Toro Rosso in the final four races of last season.

Through the first 12 races of the season, Gasly has racked up three top seven finishes. He finished in fourth place in the Bahrain Grand Prix, seventh in the Monaco Grand Prix in sixth in the final race before the summer break, the Hungarian Grand Prix.

Meanwhile, Hartley has only managed to score two points so far this season, one on each of his two top 10 finishes. He finished in 10th place in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix and the German Grand Prix. He sits in 19th in the driver standings.

The other reasonable replacement candidate for Ricciardo was Carlos Sainz Jr., but he just signed a multi-year contract to drive for McLaren as the replacement for two-time Formula 1 champion Fernando Alonso next year, effectively meaning it was only a matter of time before Red Bull Racing confirmed Gasly as their second driving for 2019.

How will Pierre Gasly perform as a Red Bull Racing driver next season? How will he handle the transition from the Red Bull Racing junior team to one of the three top-tier teams in Formula 1?