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How $27 Billion Family’s Blind Support to Alex Albon Was Spoiling Red Bull’s Plans to Make Max Verstappen a World Champion

Sabyasachi Biswas
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How $27 Billion Family's Blind Support to Alex Albon Was Spoiling Red Bull's Plans to Make Max Verstappen a World Champion

After Alex Albon failed to help Max Verstappen with his performance, Red Bull found it incredibly hard to part ways with the Thai driver in 2020. Even though it looked like a simple decision from the outside, the $27 billion worth family made it all hard for the Austrian F1 team to replace Albon.

As Verstappen settled in Red Bull, all he needed was to win the championship. Red Bull’s taskmaster Helmut Marko had nothing in mind but to help the young Dutchman reach his destiny, and this is where he brought in Albon.

With Red Bull doing their bit to be closer to Mercedes, Marko brought in Alex Albon with the intention of helping Verstappen take his shot at the championship after replacing Pierre Gasly mid-season in 2019. But, Albon not only failed to help the Dutchman but also proved to be a blunt force.

Having seen Albon’s horrid performances, the Red Bull higher-ups thought it was time for them to sack the Thai-British driver and bring someone else in. However, there was a thorn in the way and it was none other than Red Bull’s $27 billion worth partner family.

Albon had active support from Red Bull’s partner family

Despite some poor shows, the Thai driver had ample support from the Yoovidhya family. The family in the conversation here comes with a $27 billion net worth and is the co-founder of the energy drink-based company.

According to Business F1, being a Thai and a national hero, Albon had support from Chalerm Yoovidhya, son of the late Chaleo Yoovidhya, who was the co-founder of the energy drink. Not only this, but the former Red Bull star also had Vorayuth Yoovidhya, and Chalerm Yoovidhya’s wife Daranee Yoovidhya behind him.

This made the whole situation even trickier for Marko as he wanted to bring in the then Racing Point driver Sergio Perez for Verstappen. But it wasn’t possible, as it created a perfect political storm internally.

How did it all end up with Albon?

After a series of internal meetings, and with Christian Horner’s active support, Red Bull and Marko were able to part ways with the Thai driver and bring in Perez in 2021.

As Marko’s favorite choice arrived at Milton-Keynes, he actively helped his teammate clinch his first-ever title against Lewis Hamilton.

As for Alex Albon, the 27-year-old had to take a year off before he was given the outgoing George Russell’s seat in Williams in 2022, alongside Nicholas Latifi. It is believed this made both the Yoovidhya family as well as Red Bull happy.

About the author

Sabyasachi Biswas

Sabyasachi Biswas

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Sabyasachi Biswas is an F1 journalist at The SportsRush. With over one and a half decades of love for the sport and five years of experience in the field, he dreams to be a regular at the paddock when the lights go out. A Red Bull fan and F1 fan in general over the years, he enjoyed watching Felipe Massa, Sebastian Vettel, and Max Verstappen dominate the track. Apart from F1, he's also a big-time Madridista and Federer fanatic. He was a sub-junior level footballer, won inter-district quizzes and debate competitions back in school. A travel freak throughout, he tries different cuisines and learns new cultures whenever he's away from the keyboard.

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