SEPTEMBER 1, 2016

Marko denies Gasly to oust Kvyat

Dr Helmut Marko has slammed rumours Pierre Gasly is on the cusp of beginning his F1 adventure.

The 20-year-old Frenchman is next in line in Red Bull's young driver programme, but he arguably underperformed in the first half of the GP2 season this year.

But he then won three races recently, at Silverstone, Hungary and Spa, and clearly leads the title standings.

"Since Gasly had an accident at Silverstone, he wins," Red Bull's Dr Helmut Marko smiled to Auto Motor und S0port.

The Red Bull driver manager is not talking about a racing crash for Gasly, but a normal road car accident.

However, Marko's smile disappeared when he confronted rumours that Frenchman Gasly could make his F1 debut as soon as this weekend at Monza, replacing Toro Rosso's struggling Daniil Kvyat.

"That is absolute nonsense," said the Austrian.

(GMM)