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Pierre Gasly is waiting to hear from Red Bull as to what his 2018 season will look like, as he hopes to receive a promotion to Toro Rosso. The Frenchman was tipped to get a race seat this season in place for Daniil Kvyat, but Red Bull's junior team decided to keep its current line-up.
Gasly has been competing in Super Formula in the meantime. After the first four rounds of the Japanese championship, Gasly has had a best finish of fifth place and occupies eighth in the standings, with four more rounds (five races) left to run in the 2017 season.
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Gasly joined the Red Bull programme in 2014 and since then has won the GP2 series, where he beat Antonio Giovinazzi to the championship in 2016. Along with his Super Formula duties, Gasly filled in for Sebastian Buemi at the Formula E double header in New York earlier this year, finishing seventh and fourth.
The 21-year-old still doesn't know how his future will shape up. He tested for Red Bull last week at the in-season test around the Hungaroring. With tensions between Toro Rosso and its two drivers a little higher than anyone within the team would want, a place may open for Gasly. He has stated that he wants to know where his future lies before the end of August.
"My plan is of course to be with Toro Rosso on the grid," he said. "That’s the target, to be on the grid in 2018. So many things are going on at the moment, hopefully it can turn out well for me, of course we need to wait at the moment but definitely the plan is to be on the grid next year.
"I don’t have any manager so I speak straight with Helmut Marko and you know he’s really straight forward guy so you know when something happen you basically just call you and say okay that’s done
"At the moment we are having a good relationship at the moment and at you know it’s really busy with the teams, with the engine supplier, many things going between all with the team, bit too early, we are only like beginning of August but definitely I think this month we will hopefully have more news."
Gasly admits that is was difficult for him to win the GP2 championship and not recieve a call-up to Toro Rosso: "It’s difficult, after winning GP2 last year, of course your target is to be in Formula 1. Lewis [Hamilton] has won GP2, Nico [Rosberg] has won GP2, Stoffel [Vandoorne] as well, most of the drivers have been there, i.e in football when you win the second league then after you aim for the first one and that’s the same for me, that’s my only motivation at the moment.
"I do a year as reserve driver for Red Bull, also useful for me, really focusing on my physical condition to be as much ready as possible and hopefully when I will have my opportunity I will be at my best and be able to perform but at the moment we need to wait and see what’s going to happen."
Fergal Walsh
Azerbaijan Grand Prix
C. Sainz jr
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f1fan0101
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Can't see it happening..