Pierre Gasly is clear on his role in Red Bull F1 team, he is there to compete and win and not to play second fiddle to anyone, though he admits it may take a while to get there.
The Frenchman is taking up Daniel Ricciardo’s place at the senior squad after spending close to a year and a half at Toro Rosso.
Many believe the Aussie left Red Bull since he felt the squad would become more Max Verstappen centric in the future.
Gasly is not expected to match Verstappen’s speed right away, and the Frenchman made it clear that he will not be racing to serve the Dutchman’s interests.
Speaking with Motorsport-Total, Gasly said: “Being one of the best drivers right now will be a great challenge for me,”
“It will take some time for me to be competitive, but I am not here to be the number two driver, that’s not what I want or what I’m happy with.
“These things take some time, and Max is one of the fastest guys in the paddock which is super exciting for me because it brings you to a higher level.
“For sure, I’ll be better over the course of the season.”
Red Bull is serious about winning the title fight in the series. They switched to Honda engines from 2019 to realize that goal. The Milton Keynes outfit is relying heavily on in-house design guru Adrian Newey to create a chassis that can make up for the deficit of Honda engine.
Ultimately, they want their drivers to chase the race win and Dr Helmut Mark says both drivers will have a free hand to race each other.
“If I have a car I can win with, I would like to,” added Gasly.
“But if I have a car that is only good enough for the top five, that will be the goal.”
