Gasly replaced by Albon at Red Bull
Aston Martin Red Bull Racing annouced today that they will race with a new driver line-up from the Belgian Grand Prix onwards for the 2019 season.
Alexander Albon is being promoted to Aston Martin Red Bull Racing to drive alongside Max Verstappen, while Pierre Gasly will return to the Red Bull sister team, Scuderia Toro Rosso.
Red Bull are in the unique position of having four talented Formula One drivers under contract who can be rotated between Aston Martin Red Bull Racing and Toro Rosso.
The Austrian team will use the next nine races to evaluate Alex’s performance in order to make an informed decision as to who will drive alongside Max in 2020.
Everyone at Aston Martin Red Bull Racing looks forward to welcoming Alex to the Team and supporting him during the next phase of his F1 career.
Rookie Alexander Albon currently holds P15 in the 2019 drivers championship and has scored 16 points. His best result was a 6th place at the German F1 GP.
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As partly predicted. Although Kyvat must be miffed as not only has he out qualified Albon he's well ahead on points and race performances overall.
Also, Albon was quite lucky to get in a top team to begin with, time will tell if this was a good move by Horner but I'm not so sure.
Kubica, the Hulk plus others must be quaking in their race boots!
In view of Horner's and Marko's public browbeating of Gasly his demotion is nothing new.
They acted in accordance with their statements.
Oh yes of course, as Horner said last week........"Our intention is to leave him the car until the end of the year"
"leaving him in the car," is a little ambiguous statement. One could say they kept their promise - it's a car, just not the team, RB.
What is a lot more ruinous to the driver is their constant hectoring him in public, that, no matter how thick-skinned Gasly may have been, are hard to take. They have more than demoralized him, they have berated and humiliated him more than any self-respecting person could take.
I have never thought much of Gasly as a driver. But now, as human being, he has all my sympathy.
Horner and Marko prove again that their positions as the leading pricks of the grid are in no danger!
I actually agree with everything that you have said. I hope it doesn't break him but I fear it may do.
Albon has talent but I'm surprised that they placed him ahead of Kvyat but maybe they had to think about team harmony.
Poor Gasly, They promised to keep him in the car until the end of this year! Horner and Marko are sooo evil. They are two devils walking on this earth!
Obvious move is obvious. Red Bull did say they would keep Gasly until the end of the year, but if they say anything else, Gasly falls off a cliff. They have supported him until the end, but he himself has failed to perform. The consequence is logical and fair. I feel bad for Kvyat, but Red Bull have seen already what he can do in their car. It is now up to Albon to show that choosing him over Kvyat was the right choice. GL Alex!
I think Marko and Horner changed their mind when they had a look at the constructors championship standings. They are only 44 points behind Ferrari to become 2nd. Verstappen scored almost 3 times more points. And with Vettel coming up, they have no chance to run for 2nd with Gasly. He had his chance to proof his speed, but it didn't show. I feel very sorry for him, but that's the hard world of F1. It's all about performance. Hopefully Albon will do a lot better.
And people wonder why American drivers avoid F1 like the plague. It is the people in charge of teams in F1 who may be the real problem with the sport. They think they are Demi-gods and can move people around as they wish without repercussions. Someday they will regret their frivolous decisions, when they come back to bite them win their fat, over-politicized asses.
Very good observation.
Unfortunately, the day when their fat over-politicised arses should be bitten, has been here for quite a while now.
Except for McLaren ousting their French principal, and Ferrari having gone through several of them, everybody has grown roots deeper than any oak you might know.
"And people wonder why American drivers avoid F1 like the plague." NOPE :- F1 avoids American drivers because they don't drive fast enough.
There is not that much surprise in Gasly been swapped here, just the Albon and not Kvyat, however, Kvyat has had his chance already, and many still thinking if he should have been brought back. As per they saying that would keep Gasly in the car, they still doing it, just in a diffrent car, what they did before (Kvyat for Verstapen).
Albon has been at the top of the pack throughout his junior career, he is quality and deserves to
be in a better car- perfect No2 to Max.I do feel sorry for Gasly but , just like Van Doorn he isn,t F1 material.
Now we need George Russell in a decent car , and Williams need some real experience to progress with informed feedback.with an acknowledged engineer / driver.( stop chasing the money and focus on a holistic planned re-birth )
"Albon has been at the top of the pack throughout his junior career, he is quality and deserves to be in a better car- perfect No2 to Max." Apart from when he was dropped from the Redbull Junior team, beaten by Russell and Norris last year and is currently being beaten in qualifying and finishing positions by Kyvat (who wasn't good enough to be in the Red bull team several years ago).
What if Albon starts beating Verstappen? That would be funny, and it wouldn't take Verstappen long to throw his dummy out of the pram. How long would Verstappen stay with Red Bull if that was to happen? Risky strategy from Horner and Marko, and one strategy that could come back to bite them on the ass?
Interesting hypothetical, but, probably, not very likely.
Why is that? Have you been drawn into the whole "Verstappen is the best driver" theory? Most of his passing maneuvers generally end up with another driver being forced off the track or actual contact resulting in both cars going off. As for sportsmanship, look what happened with Ocon, he thinks his reputation is enough for other drivers to get out of his way. I think he has a long way to go before DC and the crew can say he's anywhere near as good as Lewis, Vettel, Button, Schumacher or Senna who were/are outstanding racing drivers.
If you cannot see the exciting talent that Max is, I suggest you go watch cricket. He won Germany and Austria on merit. Every F1 expert considered his overtake on Leclerc "hard but fair". Literally everyone. Sure he has thrown a couple of tantrums. Other great F1 drivers have done the same. They are only humans and passionate about their sports.
There's exciting and there's Max Verstappen? As for Leclerc, Charles gave him so much space and he still managed to hit him. Literally everyone? I didn't think it was fair or necessary, just a typical Verstappen hit and run. I reckon he plans to damage the other car so they can't come back at him. He's driving formula one cars now not go-karts. The plus side of what he did to Leclerc though is, Charles will never let him do it again. The more he pisses of the other drivers the harder they'll make it for him. In the future that could mean the difference between winning and losing the championship. Karma is a beautiful thing. It's clear that not many of the other drivers think much of him. Only recently has Lewis given him the time of day. If you look back at previous races Lewis had no time for him. Vettel often had words with him. Even the commentators were questioning if he was ready for F1? There are much better drivers than him on the grid. Lewis, Seb, lando, Daniel Ricciardo, Leclerc. Safer drivers better sportsman.
Something had to change, but neither Albon or Kvyat is the solution for 2020.
I would go for Magnussen, Saint or Hulkenberg in that order for 2020.
Of the five drivers you list the only one that would agree to drive with Verstappen, not exclusively because of Verstappen himself (the whole setup is a little too much,) would be - and is - Albon.
So, little wonder he got the seat!
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