Gasly reveals how he learned of Red Bull demotion

Pierre Gasly only learned of his demotion from Red Bull back to Toro Rosso hours before the news was officially announced, coming as a “shock” to the Frenchman.

Red Bull announced over the summer break that Gasly would be returning to Toro Rosso for the remainder of the Formula 1 season after a difficult start to life with Red Bull in 2019.

Gasly’s seat will be taken by Alexander Albon for the final nine races of the year, who moves in the opposite direction from Toro Rosso.

Asked by Crash.net how he learned of his demotion, Gasly said: “I found out in the morning it had been decided.

“Of course, [it was] kind of a shock and disappointed because it's not what I had been told before also after Budapest.”

Gasly confirmed he was called by Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko, specifying it was at “8:42”.

Gasly added that he felt “everything was pretty clear” for the rest of the season upon leaving Budapest, but did not want to dwell on what had changed to prompt Red Bull’s decision.

“It's not going to change the decision right now,” he said. “This is past, and I just need to focus on the present and the future and the things I can change with Toro Rosso now.”

Gasly spent the early part of this week at Toro Rosso’s factory in Faenza completing a seat fitting and working with his new engineers, with his focus lying solely with impressing for the team through the remainder of the season.

“I think I'm a really competitive guy, and I really want to be on top of my shape and feel like I can deliver the best I can,” Gasly said.

“In a way, I'm feeling pretty good and full of energy to just perform the best I can for the team. There will be new things to get on top of and get used to in the beginning.

“I'm ready to give my best for Toro Rosso to the end of the year.”