Crash.net's Top 10 drivers of 2021 - #6 Pierre Gasly
Gasly continues to go from strength to strength on his redemption journey following his Red Bull demotion mid-way through 2019.
A third place finish and podium in Baku was the highlight of a remarkably consistent 2021 F1 season for Gasly, who notched up a total of five top-five finishes across the 22 rounds.
Gasly got into triple-figures for the first time in his F1 career by scoring a total of 110 points on his way to bagging ninth place in the championship.
Gasly’s efforts saw him contribute to well over half of AlphaTauri’s entire points haul, 78 more than his rookie teammate Yuki Tsunoda managed.
That helped the Faenza outfit to a sixth-place finish in the constructors’ standings for just the third time in its F1 history in what was undoubtedly the team’s most competitive season yet.
Gasly harnessed the full potential and electrifying speed of the AT02 over one lap, which was highlighted by his impressive qualifying performances throughout the year.
The Frenchman placed inside the top six in qualifying 16 times, often in front of the Ferrari and McLaren cars. His laps to seal fourth on the grid in Baku, Zandvoort and Qatar were spectacular and the obvious standouts of his season.
Gasly crushed his teammate over both one lap and in the races, beating Tsunoda 16-5 on Sundays. He boasted the most dominant qualifying record of any driver pairing in 2021, having outpaced Tsunoda with a near-perfect record of 21-1. Only Tsunoda’s excellent lap in Abu Dhabi saved him from a total qualifying annihilation.
Given Tsunoda’s inexperience, Gasly found himself as the team leader at AlphaTauri - a position he revelled in as he continued to find improvements.
Gasly’s season was not flaw-free, but any errors were rare occurrences. Breaking his front wing after clumsy first-lap contact with Daniel Ricciardo’s McLaren in Bahrain and Italy were the worst offences during what was an otherwise outstanding campaign.
At 25, Gasly is in the form of his life. Although a return to the Red Bull senior fold appears off the cards, he is certainly posing a difficult dilemma for the top bosses at Milton Keynes with his brilliant displays.
For now at least, he finds himself in a happy home at AlphaTauri and is getting the best out of himself within the confines of a more relaxed team environment.
It would be interesting to see how Gasly would cope if given another opportunity at the front of the grid. Going off his performances over the past 18 months, it would definitely be deserved.
Gasly may well be forced to fly the Red Bull nest for such a chance if he continues to shine in the first campaign of F1’s brand new era and is again overlooked.
Despite not having the chance to add to his victory tally in what was a more competitive AlphaTauri car, 2021 will ultimately go down as being Gasly’s best season in F1 to date.
Come back on Monday to find out who sits at #5 in our list.
