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Red Bull searching for F1 seat for Albon
Red Bull is trying to find a race seat in 2022 for Alex Albon following Sergio Perez’s contract extension, according to team principal Christian Horner.
Albon was demoted to the role of reserve driver at the end of 2020 following an inconsistent year in which he finished seventh in the drivers’ championship. His work in the simulator and behind the scenes has been widely praised by both the team and Perez -- the man who replaced him -- but Albon has been chasing race opportunities, currently competing in DTM but also linked with a future in IndyCar.
“Alex still remains an important part of the team,” Horner said. “He has played a key role this year; he will continue to play that role. We are just looking at, are there any options in Formula 1 for him for next year? But in the event that he’s not in a race seat, he will be performing the same role that he has done for us this year.
“He’s doing a huge amount of work on 2022. He’s obviously done all of the heavy lifting early on and he’s playing a crucial role in that.”
Whether that role could be combined with a seat in the United States is unclear at this stage, but Horner says he sees Albon playing an important part in Red Bull’s future in F1 whether the team finds him a seat or not.
The only two realistic openings on the F1 grid are at Alfa Romeo and Williams, and when it was put to Horner that there aren’t many options but that Albon will still be able to help Red Bull in 2022, he replied: “Yes, unless of course he has an opportunity to go racing…
“You never know. He’s a capable guy, he’s a quick driver and he’s doing a good job in the DTM -- won his first race last weekend -- and he’s an important part of our team.”
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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