Gasly ‘driving better than ever’ after P5 at Portimao, Red Bull in his sights?

Pierre Gasly feels he’s driving ‘better than ever’ after finishing fifth at the Portuguese Grand Prix as he continues to pitch for a potential promotion back into the Red Bull Racing team for 2021 at the behest of Alex Albon.

Gasly enjoyed a strong race at Portimao rising from ninth on the grid, a route that included a ballsy overtake around the outside of Sergio Perez into Turn 1 in the closing laps.

Besides his victory at Monza, this was Gasly and AlphaTauri’s strongest result of the season.

After being dropped by Red Bull mid-way through 2019, the Frenchman has bounced back and has been one of F1’s star performers in 2020.

When asked after the race if he’s performing at his best, he said: “I think it is fair to say that, I have a bit more experience now and I think I manage and approach the weekend in a different way and managed to extract everything a bit more so I think it is fair to say that.

“There is still many areas to improve but it is working well and also the team is doing everything I need to perform so we have a good working relationship.”

The Frenchman now sits just one point behind Red Bull’s Alexander Albon, which has led to speculation whether Gasly will make a return to the senior Red Bull team.

Gasly was coy when asked about his future but admits he hopes he will be rewarded for his great form soon.

“We will see. At the end of the day Red Bull decides what it wants to do with the drivers. On my side the only thing I can do is perform but obviously we know that performance is not the only criteria to be in Formula 1 and to get a seat in Formula 1 so we will see.
 
“On my side that is out of control so the only thing that I can do is put in good results and I think at the moment it is working well. I have scored the most points in Toro Rosso than of the any other drivers in the past and hopefully I will get rewarded at some point.”