Image by Mauger/LAT
Albon retains Red Bull seat for 2020
Alex Albon will remain with Red Bull in 2020 after being confirmed as Max Verstappen’s teammate for next season.
The 23-year-old was promoted to Red Bull during the summer break in place of Pierre Gasly, and has gone on to finish in the top six in all seven of the races since. While he is yet to finish on the podium, Albon’s consistency has convinced Red Bull to retain him for 2020, and team principal Christian Horner said the team is excited to see him develop.
“Alex has performed extremely well since his debut with the team in Belgium and his results – seven finishes in the top-six – speak for themselves,” Horner said. “It’s extremely hard to deny that level of consistency, and in tandem with a growing reputation as a tenacious, fiercely committed racer, Alex has proved that he fully deserves to continue his progress with Aston Martin Red Bull Racing.
“There is plenty of potential still to unlock and we look forward to seeing Alex alongside Max in 2020.”
Albon said he plans on building on a whirlwind 12 months in which he has gone from being a Formula 2 driver preparing to move into Formula E to making his Formula 1 debut with Toro Rosso before stepping up to Red Bull.
“I am really excited to be partnering Max again for next year and I know how fortunate I am to be given this opportunity,” Albon said. “I’m hugely thankful that Red Bull have put their trust in me and believed in my results since I joined the team and for them to keep me in the car next year is a big deal.
“This year has been an incredible year for me, and getting the call up to Red Bull mid-season was already a big step, so now I will use the learnings from this season and use the experience to improve and fight at the front in 2020.”
Albon moved ahead of Gasly and Carlos Sainz into sixth place in the drivers’ championship courtesy of his fifth place in the United States Grand Prix and has scored 84 points in his rookie season to date.
Chris Medland
While studying Sports Journalism at the University of Central Lancashire, Chris managed to talk his way into working at the British Grand Prix in 2008 and was retained for three years before joining ESPN F1 as Assistant Editor. After three further years at ESPN, a spell as F1 Editor at Crash Media Group was followed by the major task of launching F1i.com’s English-language website and running it as Editor. Present at every race since the start of 2014, he has continued building his freelance portfolio, working with international titles. As well as writing for RACER, his broadcast work includes television appearances on F1 TV and as a presenter and reporter on North America's live radio coverage on SiriusXM.
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