Why Red Bull Racing doesn't have a credible replacement for Albon
Column
- GPblog.com
According to many, Alexander Albon currently lacks speed to keep the seat at Red Bull Racing. What should he do better to make those people change their minds and if this doesn't work out, who can replace him?
Albon now has twelve races on it in the seat next to Max Verstappen. He was suddenly promoted last year due to disappointing results of Pierre Gasly. At first, both the team and the outside world were quite enthusiastic about the Thai. He came to the finish and didn't let himself be put on a lap like the Frenchman.
Opinions change very quickly
When he was on his way to second place in Brazil and was finally tapped into by Lewis Hamilton, they even knew for sure: Red Bull made the right decision. Less than a year and only a handful of races and that atmosphere has completely changed. Like Gasly, Albon would be too slow and miss out on aggression.
It's true that the gap to Verstappen in qualifying is certainly not decreasing and if you just look at the last races, it's growing. Also in the race he was lagging far behind in Austria and Hungary. Still, it is hard to imagine that there is anyone who would do better in that car.
No better or more credible option than Albon
In Albon's defence, you could say he's still in his first season of Red Bull Racing. The circuits he's visited so far this season he rode last year in the Toro Rosso. Moreover, the RB16 turns out to be a very difficult car to drive. Road holding problems that Gasly already suffered from with the more balanced RB15.
If he doesn't improve this and next season, we can talk further, but to bring Gasly back to the team now would be very unbelievable, especially for Daniil Kvyat, who is currently being driven by the Frenchman.
And so the name of Sebastian Vettel comes up in this discussion. Of course it is not excluded, but Red Bull would break with all their principles. Since 2007 the team hasn't appointed a driver based on experience.