Alex Albon Joins Red Bull from Spa Onwards

[Bunkiester]

Rubaru,

You've made some excellent points, but in the end F1 is just like life in the "real world" for the rest of us. Yes, Kvyat was immature when he was at RB, and he's matured since then, but the damage has already been done to his reputation. The same thing happens all the time in business, once your reputation is burnt it takes a long, long time before anybody will take a chance on you again. Fair ? Not at all, but that is reality. We could blame the Teams for promoting unprepared drivers to F1 before their time, but in the end, just like in everything else, it comes down to your reputation and skills, and they need to be there, 100% on display, right from day one in an F1 cockpit. And if your performance is less than expected, you have to expect to pay the price. There's an old cliche that "all is fair in love and war", and F1 certainly qualifies for the war part! The "Generals" of the sport will put their perceived "best weapon" on the point every time, or they'll have to accept that they'll lose. In the end, how we, the spectators/fans feel is completely unimportant to "those who must be obeyed". Racing is, always has been, and always will be a blood sport. If you win, you win. If you lose, the door is over there...

 

[rubaru]

The same thing happens all the time in business, once your reputation is burnt it takes a long, long time before anybody will take a chance on you again.

Believe me...I know this more than I care to admit.

 

[T04STY]

Not following F1 lately so is it just me or RedBull team now is comprised of newbies? No seasoned mature drivers?
Are they changing their motto to "SendIT"?

Well Max might be young but he's in his 5th season of F1 already so you really can't call him a "newbie" anymore. He also matured a lot the last 1 1/2 seasons and is a good team leader.

 

[Deleted member 561801]

He should have chosen Kvyat.

 

[Mr Latte]

I could understand the logic when they demoted Kvyat, since Verstappen was waiting in the wings, and well, we all knew he was going to be in that seat next year, and that he was the next big thing. But, there's literally nothing to suggest that Albon will do any better than Gasly, so why the urgency to upset the apple cart at the half way point? With just 12 starts to his name, I fear this is a big risk for Alex as well.

Its a risk worth taking, Albon has been as good as Kyvat even if its his first year.

Gasly hasn't even had a single podium, yet Max has 2 wins and 5 podiums.
With the recent trend/results there is a slim chance that RedBull could beat Ferrari this year.

 

[boomn]

Kvyat beat Ricciardo in 2015 and scored a podium in 2016, unlike Ricciardo, before they sacked him.
He didn't blow it, Red Bull wanted Max in the car and sacrificed Kvyat.

I do think Kvyat was treated poorly, but if Red Bull was determined to switch a driver I think it was obvious at the time that Kvyat was not doing as well as any of those raw numbers seem to say.
For example in that podium race in China, he was up to 2nd place during the early safety car while Ricciardo was in 18th. Over the course of the race Kvyat lost a position to finish 3rd while Ricciardo cut through the field and finished 4th, only 13 seconds behind Kvyat. And then the next race Kvyat hit Vettel from behind twice!

 

[peppepino]

Pierre "now we can fight". Nando " karma, kid.....karma"

 

[LeSunTzu]

Typical short-term brutal management by RedBull. Very predictable indeed.

 

[jeroenalmere]

Red Bull is the biggest douchbag on the Formula 1 grid once again. Backing up their driver and then cold-blooded kicking him out.

I think Albon is too young, too inexperienced.

nonsense not if this amount of money is involved, he had to do better and he was still there....he should be glad he can swap seats.

 

[Isaac Chavira]

I just heard Salomondrin talking about this on his YouTube channel yesterday. He knows the guy personally.

 

[jeroenalmere]

i dont think pierre will come over at the weekend to stay max his house to play soccer anymore haha, he couldnt win on that either.

 

[Gringo]

Redbull the drink has its origins in Thailand. The family that invented the drink that was later developed into "the Redbull" the world knows is super duper wealthy. I wonder if there is a behind the scenes story here. Albon is capable, not to say outstanding, but he has shown he could be a contender. He "identifies" as Thai although born in the UK. And there has been efforts to develop a race and possibly a new track in Thailand over the last few years. That in itself is a bit strange as Thai people couldn't care less about F1... in fact you cant normally watch the races here unless you pay a rather large premium. I think Albon is getting a boost financially to place him in the top team. That's not to say Gasly wouldn't have been replaced for performance reasons, but you would think that Kvyat would have been preferred based on his recent performance.

The RB move seems quite odd to me. Lets see how it goes.

 

[Xero]

I hope Alex takes it in his stride. Being half way through a season might favour him, as he's not going into the team cold after a winter break.

It seems Red Bull just never learn! I'm certain this came for Helmut Marko. Just appears content in destroying young drivers careers time after time, perhaps still bitter that his own was cut short. Surely they can see Gasly had the talent and just needed nurturing. They're now creating a problem for themselves, as their junior programme is building a toxic environment with near impossible ultimatums. You're not even getting the opportunity to turn a single difficult season around. Madness! Red Bull's man management is horrendous!

 

[kevintaddo10]

For me this can be the best decision of all time of Red Bull, but a flop too. There is too potential, but the pressure can destroy it.

 

[Deleted member 113561]

nonsense not if this amount of money is involved, he had to do better and he was still there....he should be glad he can swap seats.

Look the decision is okay, but telling shortly beforehand they wouldn't do it etc. is just not okay.

 

[gamer19]

Cut-throat business.
Wasn't just a few days ago they been announcing that Gasly position at RB isn't questionable for the rest of the season ?

Yeah, I knew it, and here's the proof:
https://www.motorsport.com/f1/video/why-red-bull-has-dropped-gasly-for-albon-in-f1/452028/
@ 00:17
but I recommend that you watch whole video, it's very nice, as Borat says.

 

[NDG]

Look the decision is okay, but telling shortly beforehand they wouldn't do it etc. is just not okay.

I do agree with the treatment. But if you are in RB shoes, how will you do it? I mean, giving a driver an ultimatum creates more pressure and tendency to break down. I think it's okay like that. One call and everyone responds. If I am in Gasly's shoes, I think I'll still be glad that TR is still there to catch my fall.

From what I understand, Albon was given the shot at RB but Kvyat may still replace him in 2020. It's more like analyzing them three, and attempting to save the constructors standing by giving Albon the seat.

I've been reading articles in the official F1 page, and it's rumors galore! Some old articles even mention that if Verstappen failed to win before Hungarian GP, he may leave RB and go somewhere else. It's more like the pressure is on Red Bull to deliver a win for Max, not the other way around. Everyone knows Mercedes has been chasing Max even before he got to Toro Rosso. And the rumor was still alive before he got those wins.

Ocon or the Hulk to Haas? Maybe both? Fernando or Kvyat at Red Bull in 2020? I mean, it's silly how rumors are created, but it's been fun reading.

 

[paracletus]

Wouldn't call Gazly's year at Red Bull quite "disastrous" - 63 points is better than nothing.
However, predicted the replacement before silverstone in another thread just from RB past operations -- it was painfully obvious this was on the cards.
It'll be interesting to see what happens but as a guess we don't envisage Albon demonstrating significantly better race pace for the remainder 2019.

 

[Pheebau]

Wouldn't call Gazly's year at Red Bull quite "disastrous" - 63 points is better than nothing.

That was my first thinking. Calling this "disastrous" when Gasly is currently #6 on the championship is pushing it.

 

[M-Bimmer]

Kvyat....that poor guy is obviously not the number 1 on the list after being dumped. Let’s see what Albon will bring to the table.