Pierre Gasly pauses as he tried to recall exactly how many seasons he’s raced in Formula 1.
Sitting in the AlphaTauri hospitality suite in a bustling Imola paddock, the one-time grand prix winner has to take a moment to work out that he’s now in the midst of his fifth full F1 campaign – and fourth with the Faenza-based team.
Contracted until the end of the 2023 season, Gasly is on course to beat Daniil Kvyat’s record of most race starts with the Red Bull junior squad, formerly known as Toro Rosso.
But as the news Carlos Sainz Jnr (another product of Red Bull’s young driver programme) has signed a contract extension with Ferrari breaks shortly before RaceFans’ exclusive interview with Gasly begins, talk inevitably turns to his own future.
“So this is my fifth year in Formula 1,” Gasly says, after taking a second to count the years since his late-2017 debut.
Red Bull brought Gasly into F1 in 2017“I am doing all that because I want to fight at the front. It’s why I’m waking up every day, why I’m training every single day. Why I’m looking after my nutrition, my sleep, my recovery. Every single detail is because I want to fight with the best drivers at the top.”
The last 12 months have been lucrative for Formula 1’s golden generation of exceptionally talented under-25s. Max Verstappen capped off a world championship title by signing a monster six-year extension, Lando Norris committed his future to McLaren at the start of the season and George Russell’s Mercedes dream has finally manifested after three seasons spent toiling away at the back of the grid.
As happy for his peers as Gasly has been, the 26-year-old admits he feels he deserves to be mixing it with that formidable company out on the track every race weekend.
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and go ad-free
“I see Charles in a Ferrari, I see Max in the Red Bull, George in the Mercedes, Lando in the McLaren – I’ve been fighting with these guys all my career,” Gasly says. “I…