"He's showing us that he can fight, even for victories" - Pierre Gasly is too good to be ignored by top teams, feels ex-Ferrari driver

Former F1 driver Felipe Massa believes Pierre Gasly is too good to be ignored by top teams after Red Bull decided to stick with Sergio Perez rather than bring the Frenchman back.

Massa called Red Bull’s decision “unbelievable”, especially given Gasly’s stellar performances with Alpha Tauri, which included a race victory, multiple podiums, and several more top-5 finishes.

Speaking on the Monaco GP post-race show on F1TV, he said:

“The performances from him, that he’s showing, for a long time already, he’s unbelievable. He needs a good car because he’s showing that he can drive a top car, he’s showing us that he can fight, even for victories.”

Following the Monaco GP, Red Bull confirmed that they had re-signed Serio Perez to stay with the team for a further two years, truly shutting the door for Pierre Gasly to return to the team.

The Frenchman last raced for the team alongside Max Verstappen for a brief period in 2019 before he was demoted back to Toro Rosso. Promoted too early into a top team with huge expectations, Gasly struggled to even get close to his teammate and failed to consistently deliver results.

Once he was back in a less pressured environment at Toro Rosso, however, his performances improved markedly, and he even went on to take his first career victory at Monza in 2020.

Yet, Red Bull seems to have been unconvinced by the Frenchman's upturn in form to rehire him, especially given how well Sergio Perez has been doing in the team.

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Red Bull snub leaves Pierre Gasly free to sign with other frontrunning teams

Pierre Gasly could still get into a front-running car after being passed over by Red Bull. While Ferrari already has two young drivers committed to them over the long term, Gasly has two potential options at Mercedes and McLaren.

With Lewis Hamilton expected to retire within the next two seasons, Mercedes have been rumored to be considering their options. Their junior driver and Formula E champion Nyck de Vries is thought to be their first option to replace Hamilton.

Given Gasly’s availability, however, the Silver Arrows might choose to go for an experienced and proven racer.

Meanwhile, Daniel Ricciardo has struggled to deliver on high expectations at McLaren. With the pressure continuing to mount, the team bosses at Woking haven’t ruled out replacing the Australian early; as soon as the end of the season.

While rumors indicate that McLaren might bring American driver Coltan Herta into the F1 fold, with Pierre Gasly’s availability, they might choose to go with him instead.