Pierre Gasly ‘deserved’ to return to Red Bull and replace Sergio Perez

The French driver will remain at AlphaTauri for the upcoming season

Pierre Gasly deserved to be back driving for Red Bull ahead of Sergio Perez in the 2022 season, according to pundit Tom Coronel.

Gasly was dropped by the team in 2019 and replaced with Alex Albon before Sergio Perez took the seat for the 2021 season. Perez has retained his place, alongside reigning champion Max Verstappen, while Gasly is now at AlphaTauri.

But Coronel believes Gasly has done enough to prove he should be back in Christian Horner’s line-up.

“I think Pierre Gasly deserved it,” Coronel told the Dutch edition of RacingNews365.com. “Firstly because he comes from the Red Bull pool and secondly because he has shown that he has matured, his head has become stronger. His self-confidence is back. I would just put him next to it.

“I expected a lot more from Perez last year, really a lot more. When did he really help? Once at the end of the season year and once somewhere in the middle of the season. Other than that, he’s never been around at all.”

Gasly himself has spoken about being overlooked for the upcoming campaign and says he is frustrated.

He told Auto Motor und Sport: “I compare myself to those who got the opportunity for a Red Bull seat, it’s disappointing. Based on the numbers and results, I have delivered a better performance than anyone else in this team.

“But at the end of the day, I don’t get the recognition and reward for that. That’s hard to swallow. It disappoints me, of course.”