F1 | Red Bull Confirms Albon For 2020

Paul Jeffrey · Nov 12, 2019

Surprising pretty much no one, Red Bull Racing having confirmed Alex Albon will partner Max Verstappen at the main team next season, with Pierre Gasly being retained alongside Daniil Kvyat at Toro Rosso.

Having performed impressively in the Red Bull Honda following his mid-season switch immediately following the summer break, Formula One rookie Alex Albon has secured a new contract with the former championship winning outfit for next season - inking a deal to remain alongside Max Verstappen at Red Bull for the 2020 Formula One season.

With Albon retaining his place at the senior squad, demoted driver Pierre Gasly has been handed a Formula One lifeline with Toro Rosso for next year - the Frenchman extending his stay in the top flight with the team for which he made his Grand Prix debut at the close of the 2017 season.

Alex Albon Secures Red Bull 2020 F1 Drive 2.jpg

Although no match for team leader Verstappen, Albon has quietly gone about the business of integrating himself within the Milton Keynes based outfit this season, and recent races have shown an upturn in form for the 23-year-old, with four points scorning finishes in the last four events helping the team strengthen their hold on third in the constructors championship.

Of the new deal, Aston Martin Red Bull Racing Team Principal Christian Horner said:

“Alex has performed extremely well since his debut with the Team in Belgium and his results – seven finishes in the top-six – speak for themselves. It’s extremely hard to deny that level of consistency and in tandem with a growing reputation as a tenacious, fiercely committed racer, Alex has proved that he fully deserves to continue his progress with Aston Martin Red Bull Racing. There is plenty of potential still to unlock and we look forward to seeing Alex alongside Max in 2020.”

Securing one of the most sought after seats in Grand Prix racing in his debut year, Albon is understandably excited to continue his development at the peak of international motorsport:

“I am really excited to be partnering Max again for next year and I know how fortunate I am to be given this opportunity. I’m hugely thankful that Red Bull have put their trust in me and believed in my results since I joined the Team and for them to keep me in the car next year is a big deal. This year has been an incredible year for me and getting the call up to Red Bull mid-season was already a big step, so now I will use the learnings from this season and use the experience to improve and fight at the front in 2020.”

With Red Bull and Toro Rosso drivers now confirm, just the second seat at Williams alongside George Russell remains to be filled ahead of the new year.

Alex Albon Secures Red Bull 2020 F1 Drive 3.jpg

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Caton XII · Nov 12, 2019

Logical and... GOOD LUCK !

Enagee · Nov 12, 2019

Good to see RD up to date with Racing news.

Congrats to Albon. Hopefully he'll be up to speed by next year and not be a wingman....I can see fireworks if he ends up being faster than Max next season.

Paul Jeffrey · Nov 12, 2019

Enagee said:
Good to see RD up to date with Racing news.

Apologies, been away on (real job, not RD) business in London yesterday and today, so a little behind with stuff hence the late posting.

Pretty much on the floor with fatigue at the moment, but I'm back now

Nick Hill · Nov 13, 2019

Paul Jeffrey said:
Apologies, been away on (real job, not RD) business in London yesterday and today, so a little behind with stuff hence the late posting.

Pretty much on the floor with fatigue at the moment, but I'm back now

Ooh, away on business! In London, no less! Fancy, fancy - we're so impressed!

Good move by RBR, IMO. Being paired with Max (who is likely fastest man on the grid by my estimation) is a tall task psychologically, but you have to be impressed by how Albon has gotten after it. He's unlikely to beat Max with any regularity, but he's not looking foolish like Gasly was. Give him the security of knowing he's got the ride locked up (or, as locked up as it gets at RBR) and see what he does.

Boby Kim · Nov 13, 2019

Why do people say that Max is the fastest driver in the field? I thought Hamilton is champion this year with several races to go.
Now maybe im stupid but i isn't the person who WINS the championship per definition the fastest? If Max WINS the championship he is the fastest of the field but he is NOT the champion so he is NOT the fastest...

michelforest · Nov 13, 2019

Good decision by RBR. This has been a great season for rookie drivers: Norris, Albon, Russell... Wow! Add Leclerc to that list and I feel we're looking at the future stars of F1 in the 2020's.

Evi · Nov 13, 2019

Boby Kim said:
Why do people say that Max is the fastest driver in the field? I thought Hamilton is champion this year with several races to go.
Now maybe im stupid but i isn't the person who WINS the championship per definition the fastest? If Max WINS the championship he is the fastest of the field but he is NOT the champion so he is NOT the fastest...

The champion is the one who has more points at the end of the season. Ability to drive cars fast has almost nothing to do with it (theoretically).

Enagee · Nov 13, 2019

Who cares about being the fastest......ask Ferrari and Bottas.
Fastest lap gets you one point....consistent racing gets bags of points.
If Albon can get consistency he'll have a good chance against the Ragging Bull (Max).

Georgeagea · Nov 13, 2019

Boby Kim said:
Why do people say that Max is the fastest driver in the field? I thought Hamilton is champion this year with several races to go.
Now maybe im stupid but i isn't the person who WINS the championship per definition the fastest? If Max WINS the championship he is the fastest of the field but he is NOT the champion so he is NOT the fastest...

As a guy who doesn't like LH44, I gotta admit he's one of the bests ever.

However, the best racer is not necessarily always the fastest. LH44 has much more than sheer speed, he has consistency, smartness, luck, experience, tires management, awesome passing skills, he is a fighter, etc...
Also most of the times, the best car wins. The margin between drivers is very small, that you can only consider internal team competition only, in my opinion.
Seeing that LH44 has been multiple times beaten by VB77 or NR6 does indicate that he's not much faster. He's definitely much better, however (as clarified above).

To know who is the fastest guy on the grid, you need to have the same cars for all the grid, with same locked setup (or with very minimal setup allowed) which is never gonna happen in F1 unfortunately. It has always been a dream for me.

The results MV33 has been able to get, in a slower car than Ferrari or Mercedes, does indeed indicate that the guy is a natural talent.

If all have same cars, my vote would go for a very close battle between LH44, MV33 and CL16.

ermo · Nov 13, 2019

Boby Kim said:
Why do people say that Max is the fastest driver in the field? I thought Hamilton is champion this year with several races to go.
Now maybe im stupid but i isn't the person who WINS the championship per definition the fastest? If Max WINS the championship he is the fastest of the field but he is NOT the champion so he is NOT the fastest...

Perhaps they're just agreeing with what Jenson Button said on the subject?

Jenson has 15+ years of F1 experience and has driven next to Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso, who are widely recognised as two of the most highly regarded F1 drivers in recent history. It bears repeating that he has actually beaten both over a season on points in the same car despite arguably not being outright faster on a hot lap. With that in mind, it would seem he is well equipped to judge how fast a F1 driver is from an analytic perspective, since he would have routinely analysed his team mate's data traces and onboard footage over many years?

Furthermore, Jenson is now employed as a professional pundit by Sky Sports F1, so it's his job to observe the drivers impartially and offer his observations to his audience?

Personally, I'm not keen on Mr. Verstappen (his copious speed notwithstanding). It will be interesting to see who of the next young crop of drivers end up on top in the years to come...

Sasha Jednak · Nov 13, 2019

Back to topic, good news. I'm happy that they give next season to Albon, he did good job after summer break. I mean, without watching full races, I at least heard about him in reports compared to Gasly in first half of season.

Koen Verlinde · Nov 13, 2019

Been confirmed by Red Bull doesn't mean much imo. Gasly, Hartley, Kvyat, they all got confirmed as well.

Sasha Jednak · Nov 13, 2019

^Being confirmed is good because it means they recognized he did good job in previous months and they give him chance to drive for them next year. It is now on him to prove next season they were right and he deserves it. Those you mentioned didn't prove themselves when needed.

I agree, that it doesn't mean much in a way they can change it if they see something better.

snyperal · Nov 13, 2019

I thought this was obvious. He's put in some good performances, and showed he can overtake on the track. His next season will be the tester, where they will want him on or near Max's tail.

He's had a couple of dodgy qualifying sessions, but I think that is to be expected.

Spinelli · Nov 13, 2019

Glad for Albon although I think Kvyat just had the better of him overall when they were both at Torro Rosso in equal machinery then again it's Albon's first year. Honestly, I think he's great but, in my opinion, the only drivers that have a chance at beating either Verstappen, Hamilton, or Alonso in the same car are...well either those 3 drivers. Other than the odd race here or there, there's just no way anyone's going to beat those 3 drivers, issues aside.

ermo said:
Jenson has 15+ years of F1 experience and has driven next to Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso, who are widely recognised as two of the most highly regarded F1 drivers in recent history. It bears repeating that he has actually beaten both over a season on points in the same car despite arguably not being outright faster on a hot lap. With that in mind, it would seem he is well equipped to judge how fast a F1 driver is from an analytic perspective, since he would have routinely analysed his team mate's data traces and onboard footage over many years?

Jenson only technically beat Alonso one year because the McLaren-Honda was so atrociously unreliable that it was basically a lottery if you'd finish a race. Alonso not only outperformed Button all 3 seasons they were together but Alonso practically did so just about every weekend when neither had issues (although Button was usually not too far off, he's a fantastic driver himself).

When Senna left, Schumacher was the very, very special talent around, then Alonso & Hamilton, now Verstappen (and obviously Hamilton as he's still around).

Some days I think LeClerc may be another one of those in the group above but other days I think he's going to be in that just slightly below group (eg. Hakkinen, Vettel, Ricciardo, etc.). Same with pre-crash Kubica, he was definitely in one of those top 2 groups in my opinion.

Regarding team-mates and engineers looking at data, Massa and more than one Ferrari engineer said Alonso was somehow he more insanely talented (just a bit) than Michael Schumacher. I read multiple articles with Massa and Ferrari engineers being interviewed about it over the years.