Jan.6 (GMM) Alex Albon’s Formula 1 career is not over, according to top Red Bull official Dr Helmut Marko.
With Sergio Perez replacing him for 2021, British-born Thai driver Albon is retaining Red Bull’s backing as he moves into the German touring car series DTM.
“Alex Albon is a young, ambitious racing driver and an excellent asset to the DTM,” said series boss Gerhard Berger.
Albon, 24, will divide his time between the German category and serving as Red Bull and Alpha Tauri’s reserve driver at some grands prix.
“He will test with us and work on the simulator and be a reserve at many grands prix – this applies to all four cars,” Marko told motorsport-total.com.
“It’s not over for him. Albon failed not because he is not talented, but because of a lack of consistency. In the end, we got to the point that it caused him a lot of stress.”
Marko also said Red Bull is “ready” to loan Albon to other Formula 1 teams if necessary in 2021.
“That would allow him to do extra kilometres in the race, not just in testing,” he said.
Alpha Tauri boss Franz Tost thinks Albon’s opportunity at Red Bull simply came too soon.
“There is no magic formula,” he is quoted by motorsport-magazin.com.
“We had drivers who succeeded at Red Bull like Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo and Sebastian Vettel, but I continue to stress that drivers need three years at Alpha Tauri to survive at Red Bull.”