Red Bull assessing ‘huge amounts of data’ as decision over 2021 F1 driver nears

Red Bull F1 team principal Christian Horner says a decision over who will partner Max Verstappen next year will be made “in the coming days”.
Alexander Albon (THA) Red Bull Racing in parc ferme.
Alexander Albon (THA) Red Bull Racing in parc ferme.
© FIA Pool Image for Editorial Use

Red Bull Formula 1 team principal Christi꧙an Horner says a decision over who will partner Max Verstappen next year will be made “in the coming days”.

With the 2020 season now over following Sunday’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Red Bull’s focus has switched🔴 onto its long-deliberated conundrum of which driver will be teammate to Verstappen next season.

Alex Albon has endured a difficult first ful🌠l-season at Red Bull and the team is understood to be weighing up whether to stick with the Thai racer or make a move for Sergio Perez, who is out of contract and without a drive for 2021 des꧟pite an outstanding campaign at Racing Point.

Speaking after the rac😼e on Sunday, Horner revealed a final call is set to be made imminently, with Red Bull curren💮tly evaluating “a huge amount of data” as it considers its options.

“We 🍸have always said that we will go to the end of the year, and then make our decision at the end of the season,” said Horner.

“Alex had his strongest race weekend this weekend [in Abu Dhabi], which is encouraging fo🐽r him, and we now have a full picture of the season. And we will make that decision in the coming days.

“We have a huge amount of data now,” he addౠed. “We have all the knowledge across the vari🌄ous circuits that we have done, and will sit down and go through that so that we can come to the right conclusion.”

Albon picked up his second podium of a mixed season in Bahrain, and followed that up with another strong weekend in Abu Dhabi as he finished just beh🍎ind Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton in fourth place.

Horner said Albon’s level of performance in Abu Dhabi was exactly what the team is looking for in order to put greater pressure on Me🦄rcedes as it eyes a potential title challenge in 2021.

“It is certainly what we were expecting to see because the only way that you could put Mercedes under pressurꦓe i𒀰s if, for example, they had split their strategy we could have been very exposed,” Horner explained.

“Certainly at the end of the race Alex was abl𓂃e to close on them. He lost a bit of ground at the beginning of the stint after the Safety Car once they changed effectively to the same strategy to the end of the race, But I think Alex drove a good race and he has had a solid weekend.”

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