Aston Martin Red Bull Racing has confirmed that exciting rookie driver Alexander Albon will continue to race with the team in the 2020 season alongside Max Verstappen.
Here is all you need to know
The Thai-British talent earned his shot in motorsport’s elite event after second place in the 2016 GP3 Series and third in the 2018 FIA Formula 2 Championship. After making his F1 debut with sister team Scuderia Toro Rosso at this year’s Australian Grand Prix, Albon picked up five top-10 finishes in the first 12 races.
It was enough to earn the composed 23-year-old a promotion to Aston Martin Red Bull Racing for the Belgian Grand Prix in place of Frenchman Pierre Gasly, who dropped back down to Scuderia Toro Rosso. Albon has since held his own alongside title-contending Dutchman Verstappen with seven consecutive finishes inside the top six including being named Driver of the Day at the recent USA Grand Prix.
The 68 team points that he has accumulated means that they are third in the 2019 constructors’ standings and he is now sixth in the 2019 driver’s standings.
Team principal Christian Horner enthused: “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. 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 potentials still to unlock and we look forward to seeing Alex alongside Max in 2020.”
Albon revealed: “I am really excited to be partnering Max again for next year and I know how fortunate I am to be given this opportunity. I’m hugely thankful that Red Bull has 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.”
