"Back to the sister team you go": When former Red Bull employee revealed Pierre Gasly getting into a shouting match with Adrian Newey

Former Red Bull employee Dan Drury revealed in 2022 that Pierre Gasly got into a shouting match with aero wizard Adrian Newey during his time with the Austrian team. The French driver got promoted to the senior team from Toro Rosso at the beginning of the 2019 season after Daniel Ricciardo chose to leave the Milton Keynes outfit and joined Renault on a multi-year deal.

The 2020 Italian GP winner had a difficult six months with Red Bull alongside Max Verstappen as he couldn't consistently match the Dutch driver's speed. The team ultimately dropped him, demoted him to Toro Rosso, and replaced him with Alex Albon.

While appearing on the Last Lap podcast in 2022, Drury, who worked as a Red Bull engineer before becoming a streamer, spoke about Gasly's short stint with the Austrian team and said:

"Pierre Gasly's problem was he started to doubt himself I think in his own head. Then there was one point where again I wasn't there, so I can't confirm or deny it, but apparently Pierre got quite vocal with Adrian over the setup of the car and it sort of became a bit of a shouting match in the garage. And then once that happened, you know, in front of [advisor Helmut] Marko, it was, 'Back to the sister team, you go.'" (6:00)

However, Pierre Gasly has led a successful F1 career after his move to Red Bull including five podiums and a race win with AlphaTauri and Alpine.

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Pierre Gasly on Lewis Hamilton's influence during his time in Alpine

Last year, Alpine F1 driver Pierre Gasly said that Lewis Hamilton had been his key influence in his time with the French team and how he wanted to operate within the outfit. Speaking with the media, the 28-year-old talked about his dynamic with the French manufacturer and said:

“It's no secret why you see guys like Lewis working so long with the same race engineer and people sticking with people they know, because you build that trust and that communication process where no one's afraid of telling things how they are, whether it's good or bad.

Over a full season there are a couple of situations where it makes you make the right choice or the right change because they understand exactly what you need and that's where you find the last few hundredths of performance.”

Gasly extended his contract with Alpine in 2024. He led them to return last year as it finished P6 in the Constructor's Championship after starting the year as the slowest team on the grid. The Frenchman will lead the team in the new engine regulations next year.