Pierre Gasly has described not securing a Formula 1 seat after winning the GP2 (now Formula 2) championship as a "slap in my face".
The Frenchman secured the GP2 championship in 2016 with Prema Powerteam, but instead of sailing into a full-time F1 seat at Toro Rosso (now Racing Bulls) as a Red Bull junior driver, he remained as the reserve driver in 2017.
"It was so hard to take as I was told, 'If you win the GP2 championship, you are going to get a shot in Formula 1'," Gasly told F1.com. "It was like a slap in my face. I thought, 'OK, what do I need to do more?' I kept the mentality that I would get my shot."
While Gasly continued to serve as reserve driver at the start of 2017, he received the call that he would be replacing Daniil Kvyat at the Malaysian Grand Prix.
"I remember I was jumping on my bed in Malaysia," the 29-year-old said of his reaction to being told he would drive in the series. "I went as a reserve for Red Bull. Helmut called me to say, 'Get ready – this weekend, you are racing.' When I got the shot, I was the happiest. I remember going on the grid and knowing I'm given this chance, now it's in my hands, I have the car, the team, the people – now it's up to me and I'm in control."
Gasly went on to secure a full-time seat with Toro Rosso in 2018 before being promoted to Red Bull in 2019 after Daniel Ricciardo left the Milton Keynes outfit.
"I did four or five races in 2017, and then I started the season in 2018. In the second race, bang – P4 in Bahrain. It created straight away massive hype. Right after Budapest, Daniel [Ricciardo] announced he was leaving [Red Bull]. I remember arriving in Greece for my holiday, and it was like, 'Whoa, Daniel is going'.
"Red Bull had Carlos Sainz as an option and they had me. It's between Sainz and myself. The phone rang and Helmut told me 'OK, you're a Red Bull Racing driver at the start of next year' – this was six months into my first [full] season in F1."
Gasly was ultimately replaced at Red Bull ahead of the 2019 Belgian Grand Prix by Alex Albon. The French driver went on to sign with Alpine on for the 2023 onwards.
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