Gasly rumours swell as Marko spotted with Kvyat manager

Pierre Gasly had a French Grand Prix to forget, adding plenty of fuel to the fire regarding rumours that he may fail to see out the 2019 season with Red Bull. Gasly finished 11th in Le Castellet, but was promoted to a point-paying place by Daniel Ricciardo's post-race penalty.

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner could not add any gloss to Gasly's performance in his home race, revealing his disappointment at Gasly's inability to make good on the track position given to him by smart strategy and a rapid pit-stop.

Gasly was promoted from Toro Rosso in the aftermath of Daniel Ricciardo's shock departure to Renault and Red Bull have made little secret of the fact that the move came earlier than they had hoped for the Frenchman.

He has struggled to get up to speed after eight races, regularly finishing several places down on team-mate Max Verstappen and qualifying behind him in every race bar Canada last time out when the Dutchman had his Q2 flying lap cancelled by a red flag.

Red Bull have shown no qualms with dispensing of underperforming drivers in the past and last made a mid-season change in the main team when Verstappen replaced Daniil Kvyat.

Somewhat remarkably, Kvyat is the likely candidate to replace Gasly if such a decision is taken in 2019.

The Russian returned to Toro Rosso for 2019 and has performed impressively, scoring points in four races this year.

Red Bull motorsport Dr Helmut Marko was spotted in discussion with Kvyat's manager Nicolas Todt over the weekend at Paul Ricard, but remains insistent that the plan remains to stick with Gasly for the year.

Kvyat's manager Nicolas Todt talking to Helmut Marko at Red Bull motorhome from r/formula1

"I talk to a lot of people, because I also talked to his father," Marko is quoted by GPToday.net.

Asked if Gasly should worry about his seat, Marko replied: "He has to worry about his speed in France. We are planning to end the season with Gasly."

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