Is AlphaTauri's Yuki Tsunoda already at Pierre Gasly's 'level'? Red Bull advisor delivers verdict

Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko claims that Yuki Tsunoda is already at Pierre Gasly's level in the 2022 F1 season and that the Frenchman is unlikely to return to the main Red Bull team in the coming years.

Gasly got his dream opportunity to race in the main Red Bull team in 2019. However, the Frenchman's career move was short-lived as he was demoted back to AlphaTauri (then Torro Rosso) and replaced by Alexander Albon mid-season. The 26-year-old was unable to match Max Verstappen's pace at Red Bull, often leading to disappointing race results for the Austrian team.

Gasly has since been the lead driver at AlphaTauri, having mentored 2021 rookie Yuki Tsunoda all throughout last season. Tsunoda, who struggled to keep up with his teammate in 2021, is already up to Pierre Gasly's level this year, claims Helmut Marko.

When asked if the team would let Pierre Gasly go if an interesting opportunity arose for him, Helmut Marko told Motorsport-Total.com:

"Yes. We have a good relationship. As a team leader, he has enjoyed great success at AlphaTauri in recent years. But Yuki [Tsunoda] is already at his level in terms of lap speed. In the race, things are not going as well [as in previous seasons for the Frenchman]. Nevertheless, we improved Gasly's contract financially, even though we weren't obliged to do so."

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Pierre Gasly identified two reasons for AlphaTauri's poor form in 2022

Despite the significant progress that AlphaTauri made last season with some truly exceptional drives from Pierre Gasly, the 2022 season has been underwhelming for the team. The young Frenchman identified the car's significantly less competitive qualifying pace as one of the main reasons why AlphaTauri has been unable to match up expectations this season.

As reported by Motorsport, Pierre Gasly said:

"The first is linked to the loss of competitiveness in qualifying, a front on which we were doing very, very well last year. I was constantly in Q3, in Q1 I only needed one set of tires to pass the cut, and this is the first reason that conditioned us this season, that is, we are not competitive enough in qualifying and this makes the races uphill."

He continued:

"The second is linked to the step forward made by our direct rivals, such as Alfa Romeo, Alpine, and also Haas. Last year we were fighting for the top positions among the mid-ranking teams, I don't know how many times I qualified alongside Charles (Leclerc).”

The team has also been plagued by a series of mechanical problems, leading to multiple DNFs in the first half of the season for both of its drivers. However, with nine races yet to go in 2022, the Italian team has plenty of time to become competitive again and give its rivals a good run for their money.