88 F1 RACING JANUARY 2020
SUN MON TUE WEDTHU FRI SATNOV
2019
12345678910 11 12 13 14 15 1617 18 19 20 21 22 2324 25 26 27 28 29 30No matter how well Alex Albon has done
in Pierre Gasly’s place,Red Bull would
rather it had never neededto fi nd out.
All who know Gasly have been pleased
to see him react so stronglyto being
demoted. Any lingering sulkiness on the
fi rst day back in the paddock in Belgium
quickly evaporated and was replaced
by a desireto prove a few people
wrong. Which he has done: Gasly scored
points in more than half of the races
he contestedfor Toro Rosso this year,
including a shock second place in Brazil.
When Gasly lost his drive atRed Bull,his place on the programme was in
jeopardy. Sure, he remained part of the
Red Bull family, but it looked unlikely he
could make himself a legitimateRed
Bull Racing candidate again. Much like
his Toro Rossoteam-mate DaniilKvyat,
who fi lls something of a placeholder
role, a lack of immediate alternatives
within theRed Bull driver pool probably
helped put Gasly in a peculiar limbo –
still in F1, still contractedto Red Bull,
but with no real likelihood ofgetting
another big chance.
But Gasly has earned the righttohave an extended stay withToro Rosso
next season and theversion of him on
display in the second half of 2019 is
good enoughto race for Red Bull again.
“His confidence has been
recovering and he’s put in some great
performances,” saysRed Bullteam boss
Christian Horner. “That’s why wetook up
the option on him againfor 2020.”
Before the season began, a
breakthrough podiumfi nish felt like a
necessityfor Gaslyto keep hisRed Bull
seat. Now it’s just one of the steps he’s
takentowards winning it back.COMPLETING
THE TURNAROUND
Albon’s2020dealcameasno great surprise. Verstappen correctly
calleditthe “smartest way of continuing”. In Brazil, Albon almost
celebrated with amaiden F1 podium, but wastappedinto a spinby
Hamilton while runningsecondwithone anda halflaps remaining.
Instead of licking his wounds, Albonunderlined his awareness to
improve. Hewill needto getcloser to Verstappen andscorebigger
results. Post-season testing in AbuDhabi and pre-seasontesting in
Spain will be thefirst steps towardsthis.“That’sseat time,andplaying
around with differentthings,”says Albon. “OnceI can really start to
push thecar, I will. That’s wherethe laptime is.”
Limited track time to experimenthas restricted howmuch Albon can
understand what he needs from his Red Bull sofar.But it isanother
feather in his cap thathe has adjusted sowell ina trickysetting.
“He’s got a bright future ahead of him,” says Hamilton. “I hope
Red Bull give him the support over the years. It’s very, very important
because they often spit drivers out pretty quick if they don’t always do
the job. I hope they’re good to him.”
IfAlbon continues on his currenttrajectory, Red Bull will have no
choicebut to be anything else. Expectationswill behigher, but pressure
tends to bring thebest out ofa driver whohas knownlittle else.GASLY: FROM HEROTO ZERO (TO HEROAGAIN)
PICTURES:STEVEN TEE;ANDYHONE;SAM BLOXHAM