Pierre Gasly 's plans for the 2023 season have been confirmed amid rumours he is ready to leave the Red Bull programme.
The Frenchman believes he is worthy of a drive with a top team, having impressed since returning to sister outfit AlphaTauri. His brief spell with Red Bull in 2019 was a disaster, but since then he has won a race in a much less competitive car and produced consistently impressive results.
Gasly had hoped that a second chance might come to partner up with Max Verstappen once again, when Sergio Perez 's deal expires at the end of the current season. However, the chances of that happening became zero when the Mexican signed a new contract until the end of the 2024 campaign.
The confirmation of that news sparked speculation that the 26-year-old would be looking elsewhere for opportunities to drive a more competitive car. But that won't be happening in 2023, as AlphaTauri have confirmed Gasly will, at the very least, see out his current deal and remain for one more season.
"I have been with this team for five years now and I am proud of the journey we've been through together and the progress we have made," said the Frenchman. "I'm happy to remain with my Scuderia AlphaTauri team. This year's new regulations have created new challenges for us and being able to plan our development with the team for the next 18 months is a good working basis for the future."
Team principal Franz Tost added: "He has proven his abilities during all the time he has spent with us. Undoubtedly, Pierre can play a major role in the team having a successful season next year and it will be down to us to provide him with a competitive car, so that he can continue to deliver excellent results."
It comes after Red Bull chief Christian Horner said it was a "no-brainer" to choose to keep Perez – even though it meant the door was closed to Gasly. "He remains under contract to Red Bull – there's another year to run on that contract," he said. "The timing wasn't right to bring him back into Red Bull Racing.
"It shows we're not afraid to step out of the scheme if a driver within the scheme, we don't feel there's one really [ready] for Red Bull Racing. I think the pairing that we have, we're happy with."
