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Where can Albon go in 2021? Opportunities in F1 seem to be diminishing
The 2020 F1 season has only three races remaining. With both Championships wrapped up, naturally, the attention starts to turn to 2021. The rules will virtually remain the same. However, many drivers will be changing teams and as a result, there is still a lot of uncertainty about some seats on the grid. For Alexander Albon, a switch to a different racing class seems a more logical choice than F1.
The British-Thai of Red Bull Racing is experiencing a dramatic season and apart from his only podium place in Mugello, Max Verstappen's teammate did not make a big impression. The shortened 2020 season, therefore, seems to be the only full season for Albon at Red Bull. However, the young driver still has plenty of options, if it appears that there is no place at Red Bull.
1. AlphaTauri
This seems to be the most obvious choice for Albon, to take a step back towards Red Bull's sister team. However, there are many other candidates to drive alongside Pierre Gasly in 2021. Yuki Tsunoda, for example, seems to have a huge chance, now that AlphaTauri will also be testing more with the young Japanese driver in the coming months. Albon will therefore not have a huge chance of a seat Franz Tost's team.
2. Formula E
The electric racing series seemed to be the future for Albon in 2019. The driver finished third in the 2018 F2 Championship, behind Lando Norris and then champion George Russell. In 2018 he drove for DAMS, alongside Nicholas Latifi. After a successful season of F2, the options for a switch seemed to be disappearing, so Albon opted for the electric route.
Albon's route towards Formula E didn't last long because it was soon announced that he would switch to Toro Rosso. Because there is probably no place for him there now, a switch to Formula E is also one of the possibilities for Albon.
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3. Reserve driver within F1
With his two years of F1 experience, a role as a reserve driver is also one of the options. Drivers such as Daniil Kvyat and Esteban Ocon stayed connected to Formula 1 and also managed to make a comeback, returning after their first departure. Red Bull still lack an experienced reserve driver, because where Mercedes has Stoffel Vandoorne and Racing Point Nico Hulkenberg, Red Bull had to make do in Turkey with F2 driver and Red Bull Junior Juri Vips.
4. IndyCar
This option was also considered by both Haas drivers, who will no longer drive for the US team in F1 after 2020. Fernando Alonso has already shown that as an F1 driver you can drive IndyCar and since there are still enough seats left in the American racing series, a switch to America can also be attractive for Albon.
This article first appeared on the Dutch version of GPblog and was written by Bram Huisers