Horner: Gasly "stepping into big shoes" at Red Bull

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has explained that the team’s new driver Pierre Gasly will be stepping into big shoes, as the departing Daniel Ricciardo won’t be an easy driver to replace.

Verstappen and Gasly have known each other for a very long time at this point, as the two competed with each other ever since their karting days. Even though they weren’t best friends back then because of their limited ability to speak English, Horner does think that it could prove to be an advantage.

“They know each other well,” Horner was quoted by Crash.net.

“They’ve roomed with each other, they’ve raced with each other since karting.

“There’s a healthy respect between the two of them. Pierre is stepping into big shoes.”

READ: Verstappen on Gasly: "We've played lots of FIFA against each other"

Gasly has just driven one full season in F1 before he got the promotion, with the Frenchman having impressed in his time at Toro Rosso. The highlight of his season was undoubtedly his P4-finish in Bahrain, the highest finish for Toro Rosso in years.

Still, Verstappen is the younger driver between the two of them, despite the fact that he's been in F1 for four full seasons now.