“I think it’d be tough for any driver to currently go up against Max” – Red Bull F1 boss Christian Horner defends Alex Albon in battle vs Max Verstappen.
Alex Albon has had a tumultuous season mentally but seems to be thriving under the pressure of keeping his Red Bull seat. And something that will please him, his boss Christian Horner has given reassurance that he is still their first preference, and not Sergio Perez.
“It’s not something that we are contemplating at the moment (replacing Albon)”
The two @redbullracing boys join Lewis on the podium today to round off the #BahrainGP top 3:
🥇 Lewis Hamilton
🥈 Max Verstappen
🥉 Alex Albon pic.twitter.com/VzjoBL6d9N— Formula 1® Game (@Formula1game) November 29, 2020
“So I guess once we get to the end of the year, then we’ll evaluate all of those options. I mean, he’s on a long term agreement, as all Red Bull drivers are when they join the team. So our focus is at the moment on the race seat and giving him the opportunity to demonstrate that he is making significant progress, building on that podium from last weekend, and this early practice form.”
Max Verstappen the most in form driver in F1 currently
It’s a lopsided intra-team Red Bull battle this season, with Max Verstappen dominating proceedings. This has played a major role in piling up the pressure on Alex Albon, who is yet to win an F1 race. But Horner has chosen to defend Albon, by stressing on how strong Verstappen is at the moment, probably the best driver in the grid.
“I think that you’ve got to look at how Max has evolved over the last few years. If you look at his average (qualifying deficit), Alex’s average is still closer than for example Pierre’s was last year to Max.”
“But Max is a tall order to go up against, he’s arguably probably the most in-form driver currently in F1. I think it’d be tough for any driver to go currently up against Max.”
Red Bull or the bench for Albon
Christian Horner also confirmed Alex Albon will not move to sister outfit AlphaTauri if he is removed from Red Bull. This essentially paves the way for Yuki Tsunoda, who looks set to replace Daniil Kvyat at the Faenza-based team.
“I don’t believe he forms part of Franz’s (Tost) plans for next year.”
“So it’s very much a Red Bull seat or a year on the bench. So the focus is on giving him that opportunity.”
