"I went through something relatively similar" - Carlos Sainz empathizes with Pierre Gasly over Red Bull snub

Carlos Sainz sympathized with the situation Pierre Gasly finds himself in at the moment. The French driver has been driving at a high level on a consistent basis for AlphaTauri. However, with Sergio Perez signing a two-year contract extrension with Red Bull, it seems that Gasly will have to look outside the Red Bull program if he wants to further his career outside of its sister team.

Another driver who went through something similar in the Red Bull program was Carlos Sainz. The Spaniard was left with nowhere to go after Torro Rosso as the senior team had already found a strong and stable partnership between Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen.

Sainz was asked about his thoughts on the AlphaTauri driver's predicament in the drivers' press conference ahead of the Azerbaijan GP. He pondered over the question and said that his experience was similar to Gasly's, however, he also appreciated the Austrian team for giving him a career in F1.

He said:

“Yeah, it was not easy, but at the same time thanks to Red Bull, it’s why I made it to Formula 1 why I am a Formula 1 driver right now and I’m enjoying a career, no? It’s a difficult trade, but I understand what Pierre [Gasly] is going through. I went through something relatively similar. At the time maybe it caused me a couple of bad situations or bad moments with Red Bull but now I remain good friends with Helmut with Christian and I only have grateful words for them, you know.”

---

Carlos Sainz: I understand both parties

Carlos Sainz praised Pierre Gasly's performances and said that he understood that the Frenchman would like to fight further up the field, but at the same time, he knew that Red Bull only had a limited amount of seats for its drivers.

“I can understand both positions. It’s a very difficult trade between where you want to be but at the same time being loyal to the ones who have trusted in you. What I can tell you is that Pierre for me is a very good driver that is always performing on track and it’s normal that he has high expectations and wants to go and find a place where he can fight for wins and some poles so I understand, as I said, both positions.”

Pierre Gasly is in an odd position now, since most teams already have their 'chosen' drivers on long-term contracts, such as Red Bull, Ferrari, McLaren, and Alpine. However, if the Frenchman is up for a challenge and ready to stick his elbows out, he could, perhaps, find a seat at Mercedes or McLaren if either Lewis Hamilton or Daniel Ricciardo chooses to retire.