The 2019 Formula One season has barely begun and already, Pierre Gasly is on thin ice. This is mostly because Red Bull motorsport advisor, Dr Helmut Marko has warned the Frenchman to exercise more caution in his driving.

Marko has set a target for the Red Bull team this season. He expects Max Verstappen and teammate Gasly to achieve “a minimum of five wins” in the first Honda-powered year.

“I believe we also have a certain chance of the world championship,” he said, speaking to APA news agency.

As expected, Marko also aimed another dig at Renault. He declared that the switch to Honda power was “the best” decision Red Bull could have made.

Another change to the team was roping in Pierre Gasly in the wake of Daniel Ricciardo’s departure to Renault. However, the Frenchman struggled to get to grips with the car, as evidenced by two crashes in Barcelona testing.

Speaking to the media, Marko confessed, “In the second crash we ran out of spares, so Max Verstappen could hardly drive on the last day.”

Inspite of all that, he promised equal treatment between Gasly and Verstappen in 2019. He assured, “Nothing will change in that way, but what we’ve seen in the tests is that Gasly is not yet on Verstappen’s level. But we didn’t expect that either.”

However, he was glad to report that barring the two crashes, Gasly’s testing form was perfect. But he did say.

Finally, Marko was questioned on the ‘Brexit’ story and its effect on F1 teams based in UK. He also responded to Toto Wolff’s claim that the matter could be a major issue for the teams this year.

“Nothing is eaten as hot as it is cooked,” Marko mused. “The country has to keep going.

“There may be one or two inconveniences, or something will be delayed, but that’s not so important.”