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While Max Verstappen took the podium at the Portuguese Grand Prix, Albon started in sixth place and finished only in twelfth place in Sunday’s race. The Thai driver cannot compete with his partner throughout the year, and at Red Bull, they seriously thought about replacing him for next season.
Red Bull team boss Christian Horner said after Sunday’s race, of course, that they would really like Albon to recover, mainly because they will soon have to decide which pair of riders to cut for next year.
“There is not much competition left and little by little we are reaching the time of year where we have to start thinking about next season,” the Red Bull team boss told reporters. F1VILÁG.HU declaring his staff after the competition.
“So we have to make a decision in the next few weeks. Of course we know what our options are. ”
“It was a tough race for Alex. We need to look at the data, all the information. In his case, for example, the tires were much more worn. We have a lot to understand and obviously we will have to cut back next week. ”
The expert says that he is not worried that the available competitors, especially Sergio Pérez and Nico Hülkenberg, do not wait and sign with another barn.
“I think Red Bull would be a priority for these riders, so I guess they’ll wait to see how we decide.”
If Red Bull decides to put Nico Hülkenberg in their car in 2021, the german might have a chance as soon as this year, as he is not currently competing anywhere. Horner, on the other hand, says they will end the year with Albon.
“We are committed to Alex for this year. Everyone on the team wants to be able to have their meeting for next year. He’s a great guy, we think he’s talented. This is only his second year in Formula One, he has a very difficult job ”.
“It is mentally difficult, it is very difficult to go against Max. He has shown before that he can cut back, and I really hope that next week at Imola he will do so after this difficult weekend. “
To the question of why they would prefer to bring in an outside competitor if they do not extend with Albon, and why not put Pierre Gasly in your car, for example, explained the expert: the French pilot fits perfectly with AlphaTaur and they think it would be a mistake to pick him up from there.
“Obviously we have a lot of information about cyclists, over an extremely long period! Pierre has done a great job even now and drives very well in that environment at AlphaTaur. It feels good in the car and there is much less pressure in that environment. There are not so many expectations. ”
“And the team’s ambitions are different than when they were still in Tor1 as Toro Rosso. So it makes absolutely sense: everything fits perfectly for both parties. ”
