Pierre Gasly says he isn’t concerned about his future at Red Bull despite his difficult start to the season.

The 23-year-old has contributed just 37 of the team’s point so far this year compared to Max Verstappen’s 100.

Team principal Christian Horner said it was “frustrating” to see Gasly finish out of the points on the road in France, before he was promoted to tenth place by Daniel Ricciardo’s penalty. The team’s motorsport consultant Helmut Marko recently said they would be prepared to consider recalling Daniil Kvyat from Toro Rosso to the top team if needed.

However Gasly he wasn’t worried about losing his place at the team, as Kvyat did mid-season at Red Bull three years ago.

“No not really,” he said when asked by RaceFans at the Red Bull Ring today. “I think at the moment it’s clear no one is happy and I’m the first one not happy with the performance because I’m a racing driver.

“I feel we are far from showing the potential we have and that’s not pleasant and no one is happy about it. At the moment it’s just trying to focus on putting everything together. Same on my side: I think there are things we can do better as well. We can all do better but we’re clearly not showing the potential so I think that’s the main thing to focus on at the moment.”

Gasly said he is still adapting his driving style and his car to suit each other. “I had to change quite a bit compared to my approach and what I would like to do. But then at the same time the team is trying to find ways to come back towards my natural driving style.

“So I think it’s a bit both but for sure I had to change. I still have things I can do better to suit that car a bit more and that’s what I try to focus on.”

“At the moment the car is a bit inconsistent,” he explained. “Some sessions we are fast, some we are not. It’s juts a matter of finding a consistent base, that’s the main thing.

“Sometimes we manage to be fast, just not as consistent as the other car, for different reasons. I think it’s really important for us to find what works and go every weekend building from the base that at the moment I think we are struggling to find.”

Gasly said he is hopeful he will emerge from his rough patch a stronger driver.

“At the end you always learn from this kind of difficult situation whether it’s about yourself, about so many things like just facing challenges. I think in the end when you come out of it, it always makes you stronger. That’s the way I look at it. For sure things are not going exactly how I want but I’m pretty confident it’s going to make me a more complete driver once we go through that phase.”

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2019 F1 season