Will Gasly fight Verstappen hard?

After spending a year and a half with Toro Rosso, Pierre Gasly has been promoted to Red Bull for 2019. The Frenchman says his aim is to beat his new teammate Max Verstappen, but not to ‘destroy’ him.

In his first full year at F1, Gasly has taken four top 10 finishes to date and has been way ahead of his current teammate Brendon Hartley. His performance made him the best junior driver in the Red Bull Academy. So it is no wonder he was chosen as Daniel Ricciardo’s replacement.

The real fun will start when Gasly starts to race against Verstappen. The Dutchman has outqualified the Aussie in almost every race except for Monaco GP. So it will be a good fight between the two youngsters in 2019.

While promising to do his very best in each race, Gasly was smart enough to say he will not try to ‘destroy’ his future teammate.

Speaking with Ziggo Sport’s Olav Mol, Gasly said: “You always need the time to get used to everything, but hopefully I will be quick to work with the team and the car,”

“I’ve known the team at Red Bull Racing for a while and at their request, I have already been in the simulator and I hope to be at ease soon.

“It’s not my wish to destroy Max. We are both drivers and of course, I am going there to be the best.

“I want to be the best Formula 1 driver on the grid and he has the same desire.”

Although Mol’s question was a provocative one, given that he would root for the Dutch driver, the Frenchman stayed sensible in his response.

It is only natural for everyone to expect teammates to beat each other. But it won’t be an easy task, considering Verstappen’s pace. Just keeping up with him will be a hard job for the French driver.

“It’s nice to have someone next to you who is so fast, so you can bring out the best in each other, we’re going to experience great times,” he added.