Horner backs Gasly to overcome stodgy Red Bull start

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has backed Pierre Gasly to overcome his difficult start to life in the team. Gasly as struggled for form since moving from Toro Rosso and was unable to replicate his 2018 Bahrain Grand Prix heroics this time around.

For only his second full season in F1, the Frenchman was drafted into the Red Bull Racing lineup to replace Daniel Ricciardo.

He failed to score points in Australia and once again struggled to make his way through the field in Bahrain, finishing eighth from 13th on the grid, but chiefly through retirements ahead of him.

"It's positive, but still it was a difficult weekend because I do not feel comfortable in the car," Gasly said.

"I'll have to adapt to it compared to last year's Toro Rosso, which was better suited to my driving," he added. "At the moment I feel a bit like a passenger."

Red Bull is a notably tough environment for underperforming drivers, but team boss Horner said Gasly drove well in Bahrain.

"He overtook several drivers and when he had clear air, he had good pace especially in the second half of the grand prix," he said.

"I think it will give him some confidence. As soon as he starts to do better in qualifying, his life will immediately get easier."

Horner admitted that the 2019 Red Bull is hard to drive.

"It seems to only work effectively in a very narrow range of settings," he said.

"Max has no particular problems with that, but it's quite clear that Pierre does. However, I'm sure he will eventually get on top of it."

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