Turkish Grand Prix only made Red Bull Racing's driver choice more complex

Albon had his best weekend in the rain at Istanbul Park since his podium in the Tuscany Grand Prix around two months earlier. He was closer to Max Verstappen and showed on the smooth asphalt that there is little wrong with his car control. Whether it is enough to keep his seat is a big question, but it will give Helmut Marko and his team food for thought throughout the off-weekend.

 

 

 

 

 

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Een bericht gedeeld door GPblog.com Nederland (@gpblog_nl)

What the Turkish Grand Prix showed once more is that the RB16 is simply an extremely unstable car. Albon gave up a podium place with a spin, but Max Verstappen did the same and eventually crossed the finish line just ahead of the British-Thai.

Perez and Hulkenberg also unconvincing in the rain

Sergio Perez and Nico Hulkenberg are listed as the two main candidates should Albon not keep his seat. They are not convincingly better under these wet conditions than what Albon showed last weekend. Yes, Perez was finished second but was actually slower all weekend than teammate Lance Stroll, who dropped down the order due to a strategic error from the team.

Nico Hulkenberg does have a bit of a reputation as a rain driver, but we all remember how the German made a major mistake in his home race at Hockenheim last year. He, therefore, dropped out of the race while he was in the lead.

There is no question that both Perez and Hulkenberg would perform well at Red Bull Racing, but Albon can do that under the right circumstances. Especially if Red Bull give him a car he can rely on. Based on this last race, you have to say that replacement is now a considerable gamble. How desperate are Red Bull to take this gamble?

This article was originally published on the Dutch version of GPblog and was created by Pelle Gerritsen