Formula 1: This is exactly what Pierre Gasly needed

After struggling at Red Bull Racing to start the 2019 Formula 1 season, Pierre Gasly needed to be demoted back to Toro Rosso for his own good. That is exactly what he got, and it has worked out well.

Even before the first race on the 21-race 2019 Formula 1 schedule was in the books, Aston Martin Red Bull Racing’s Pierre Gasly found himself on the hot seat after qualifying very poorly for this race in 17th place.

Gasly only managed to climb six positions to finish this race, the Australian Grand Prix, in 11th place.

Through the next several races, the 23-year-old Frenchman did not show much improvement. There were whispers that he may be demoted to Scuderia Toro Rosso, the Red Bull Racing junior team for which he drove in his rookie season last year, as a result of his struggles.

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For Gasly’s own good, this needed to happen.

Despite the fact that both Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner and team manager Helmut Marko stated that the team would not alter their driver lineup before the 2019 season came to its conclusion, Gasly was demoted to Toro Rosso after the first 12 races and replaced by rookie Alexander Albon.

Three races into Gasly’s second stint at the Faenza-based team, and it is clear that this was the right move.

As his struggles driving for Red Bull Racing became more and more prevalent throughout the season, it appeared as though Gasly simply could not handle the pressure of driving for the team, especially as a teammate to rising superstar Max Verstappen.

But driving for Toro Rosso, Gasly seems to have his mojo back.

Last season, Gasly accounted for 87.88% of Toro Rosso’s points, the highest percentage among all drivers for all teams. He did so with just five top 10 finishes in 21 races.

Three races into his second stint driving for Toro Rosso, he has already recorded six points on two top 10 finishes, and his average finish of 9.33 is better than that of teammate Daniil Kvyat, which is 13.67 in these three races.

Perhaps most notably, Gasly’s average finish driving for Toro Rosso this season is nearly as good as his average finish driving for Red Bull Racing. Driving for the latter, his average finish was 8.50 in 12 races.

Marko has already hinted that the decision regarding who Verstappen’s teammate will be next season will likely come down to Albon or Gasly. Albon has done a solid job driving for Red Bull Racing thus far, and he could certainly be back with the team next year.

But because of Gasly’s demotion to Toro Rosso, he has had the opportunity to rediscover some of his confidence, and given how strong he has been driving for Toro Rosso both in 2018 and 2019, that rediscovery of confidence could be the boost he needs to make Red Bull Racing’s decision for next year more challenging than originally thought.

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Pierre Gasly’s demotion back to Toro Rosso could be a blessing in disguise. Through three races driving for the team in the 2019 Formula 1 season, he has been doing exactly what landed him at Red Bull Racing in the first place. Could he potentially end up with another shot at the team next year, perhaps in a better position to capitalize on that opportunity?

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