Albon to replace Gasly at Red Bull
- Published on 12 Aug 2019 12:28
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- By: Fergal Walsh
Red Bull has announced that Alexander Albon will replace Pierre Gasly at the team from the Belgian Grand Prix onwards.
Gasly has struggled to get up to pace at the energy drink squad this season, which was his first in the Milton Keynes outfit, replacing Daniel Ricciardo who departed for Renault.
Max Verstappen has two Grand Prix, while Gasly has failed to find the speed to match or stay close to the Dutchman, and is just five points ahead of McLaren's Carlos Sainz in the championship standings.
Albon made his debut in Formula 1 this year with Toro Rosso alongside Daniil Kvyat, who returned to F1 after a year out.
The Thai-British driver, who was a late call-up to Toro Rosso for the 2019 season, secured a best result of sixth at the German Grand Prix, where teammate Kvyat scored a podium finish.
At the Hungarian Grand Prix last time out, Albon stated that keeping a seat at Toro Rosso was his goal for 2020, rather than looking for a drive at Red Bull.
Albon raced in the FIA Formula 2 championship for two years in 2017 and 2018, taking third place in the championship last year behind fellow F1 graduates George Russell and Lando Norris.
Red Bull added that it would "evaluate Alex’s performance in order to make an informed decision as to who will drive alongside Max in 2020".
Albon will make his debut at Red Bull at the end of the month when the F1 summer break ends and the sport returns to action at the Circuit Spa-Francorchamps.
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Replies (14)
Login to replyf1fan0101
Posts: 1,804
what!! :o
ajpennypacker
Posts: 2,475
called it! Ok. Maybe I predicted it to happen 4 races ago, but still!
This was long overdue in my opinion. Gasly has been dreadful.
Albon has been promising. Red Bull has a real chance to beat Ferrari to 2nd in the constructor's championship and Gasly is ruining that.
I'm a little bit surprised they didn't get Kvyat, but I guess they really trust Albon. Ultimately, he won't be as bad as Gasly, that's for sure.
denis1304
Posts: 284
Daniil Kvyat is going to LOVE this... not. Helmut Marko and RB are ruthless.
(I can understand why Daniel Ricciardo left RB, to bad he chose wrong team)
Kean
Posts: 692
Don't agree with this call. I think part of Gasly's problem is that the promotion came too soon, what if the same turns out to be true for Albon. Then Marko will have crushed two young drivers. Hopefully Albon will cope much better than Gasly, and hopefully Gasly returns to form in Toro Rosso. Also, talk about a big screw you from Marko to Kvyat. Guess Kvyat will start looking for a drive outside of the RBR program ASAP, just like Sainz did.
calle.itw
Posts: 8,527
Fully agree. I suspect this is the same mistake all over again.
Kean
Posts: 692
Perhaps this opens up talks between Kvyat and Alfa. Kvyat has ties to Ferrari, and he's performing much better than Giovinazzi.
Ram Samartha
Posts: 1,172
Every indication is that Herr Marko doesn't give a flip about Kvyat. Then again by leaving him at STR they have a strong driver who can score points for the team.
xoya
Posts: 583
Jesus...
I did NOT see that one coming.
siggy74
Posts: 194
Neither Did Gasly, rofl
Pistonhead
Posts: 556
Gasly's had a lot of time to impress and hasn't done so - yet. Doesn't mean he's not up to the mark - it does though show he isn't a top driver and top drivers get the best seats - the Red Bull way. Good luck to Albon, if he drives well he will secure the seat for next year imo - and by well, he must do measurably better in respects to Gasly, qualifying and race - Im sure he will do just that, he seems a very level headed young man and had adapted well to F1 since his promotion. Well done to RBR for sticking to their business model, I"d much rather see decisions based on merit/performance than sentiment and hope.
calle.itw
Posts: 8,527
Kiiinda called it, kinda didn't. I mean honestly, with the kinda display Gasly's been putting on, and with Marko having an angel's patience (read angels don't exist = Marko has zero patience) I'd be very surprised if he'd make it to the end of the season. But Albon? Albon wanted another year at TRH, Gasly wanted the year out. At least put Kvyat in the car this year and the next. It's too early for Albon, and now RBH just repeats the same mistake as with Gasly, and nobody will be happy. What kinda taurine/caffeine beverage were they on when this was decided upon?
boudy
Posts: 1,168
Not sure. Somehow I think that Albon is a safer pair of hands and that's what RBH requires at the moment. Gasly's results were dire but tbh against verstappen it would be difficult for most drivers (Ric saw that coming). Not sure if he commits to being an no2 or fancies a fight with Verstappen. For me he would do well being a solid no2 and protect Verstappens back in races.
calle.itw
Posts: 8,527
Thing is: I don't think anyone expected him to beat Max. What Gasly was expected to do was to at least stay close to him, and be able to race other cars, maybe even qualify fast laptimes. As you say, a solid 2. He hasn't really done any of those things. And if they wanted to finish the season well, a seasoned car would be a better choice. Albon is currently doing well, but is still behind Kvyat. I hope Albon does well, I cheer for him, but I am worried.
mcbhargav
Posts: 1,332
RB might have had discussions with other possible candidates to fill in the role of Gasly ( who surely doesn’t deserve it for 2020) and I think in the end they chose Albon. perhaps they fo not ha e enough belief in Kvyat yet ( or Kvyat might be discussing with other players). But, one must question on, how Albon could fare better than Kvyat/Gasly with his limited experience.