Christian Horner explains how Pierre Gasly and Alexander Albon at AlphaTauri would perform same, off-set among teammates as F1 Nation features him and Romain Grosjean.
Follwoing another difficult time for Albon in the F1 Portuguese GP, Red Bull chief Horner put it on the Thai racer to salvage his career by doing whatever is required of him in races like Imola and Istanbul, as the team nears its decision time for 2021.
While Horner understood the start difficulties for both its drivers at Algarve but with Albon not being able to get going, it was tough to defend the Thai racer. He had considerably higher tyre wear while running in traffic as opposed to Max Verstappen.
Having only managed 12th, time is running out for Albon to save his Red Bull F1 seat as the idea of having someone from outside gains momentum, especially with Sergio Perez and Nico Hulkenberg in the market – both doing all to please Red Bull to hire them.
In fact, Horner ruled out the possibility of having Gasly back in Red Bull as the Brit felt that the Frenchman wouldn’t do anything more than what Albon was doing. On similar tunes, he reckoned the Thai would perform to his potential at AlphaTauri like the Frenchman.
“I think Pierre is doing a great job and he drove another great race, with some great moves,” said Horner to Sky F1. “His confidence is up there and that AlphaTauri car is easier to drive, it was an easier car last year when Alex stepped up, it was one of the first comment he made. I have got no reason to think that if tables are turned, it would probably be same situation.
“I think Alex in that AlphaTauri car would perform equal to that of Pierre at the moment. We have so much information on these drivers and the characteristics of our car is different, which is what Alex is struggling with as Pierre did 12 months ago. That’s obviously something we need to work on.
“You can see in difficult conditions. The segregation between the drivers, whether it is Leclerc and Seb at the moment or even Lewis and Valtteri in the race their, you see quite a big off-set and that’s obviously what we have seen in Portugal. Quick cars are tend to be difficult cars to drive on the edge and Max is showing what’s the car’s potential is. We want both drivers to be up there and we need Alex to be up there when he is within couple of tenths as Valtteri is with Lewis.
“It gives you different strategic options in the race. Everybody is doing their best to help Alex to find a set-up, find a balance he’s got confidence with because we all still believe in him. He’s a great kid and great talent, obviously, he’s only in his second year of F1, and everybody is rooting for him to claim that seat but obviously it’s been a difficult day for him,” summed up Horner.
Here’s last from Christian Horner on Alexander Albon situation
F1 Nation podcast:
In many regards similar to prior episodes, the latest installment of F1 Nation began with chatter about Lewis Hamilton’s record-breaking efforts, this time in the Portuguese GP at Algarve. The two hosts were in agreement that this record is likely to stand for the rest of time, given changing regulations aimed at shaking up the sport and creating a more unpredictable championship.
After this, the topic of discussion pivoted, now focusing on the lively silly season of 2020, with particular care being taken to the topic of Albon’s uncertain future with Red Bull. An interview with the boss of the anglo-Austrian team, Horner, was subsequently played, with the Brit saying that the Thai driver has to step up in order to retain his seat.
Horner added that no drivers within the Red Bull driver program would be considered for promotion, as he explained that a drivers available elsewhere are preferable. Naturally Sergio Perez and Nico Hulkenberg were then brought up, and debate between the hosts about the most qualified candidates ensued.
Alex Jacques then raised Fernando Alonso, though accepting the impossibility now that the Spaniard has been signed. Of the two options listed, both hosts stated the Mexican is the ideal choice for Red Bull. Delving deeper into the situation within the Red Bull programme, Jacques stated that F2 star Yuki Tsunoda would be better served doing another season in the lower category.
After this, the episode’s silly season discussion shifted, in paradigmatic fashion, to the circulating rumors of Perez’s possible move to Williams to replace George Russell. Both hosts admitted that various things, including the comments of acting Williams principal Simon Roberts, shifted their view of these rumors, which they once thought to be unsubstantiated.
They also discussed Alfa Romeo’s driver line-up, with Hulkenberg seemingly an option, but also seemingly having his chances eclipsed by Kimi Raikkonen’s early-race heroics in Portugal, for which he got praise. The two also discussed Haas, before an interview was played with Romain Grosjean as a ‘going away’ chat of sorts.
In this interview, Grosjean was pressed on the F1 races he feels were the best of his career, beginning with the 2013 US GP. Tom Clarkson proposed that it might have been the 2012 European GP at Valencia – a race which the Frenchman failed to finish, but nonetheless maintained good pace whilst he ran second in the laps prior to his DNF.
Grosjean stated that Italy 2018 might be in contention for this title, as – but for a disqualification being levied against him as the result of an underweight car – he ran a tactical race, during which he remained competitive. Other races brought up were Canada 2012, and Barcelona 2014 – a race he ran in what he admitted was “probably the worst looking F1 car ever”.
On the note of cars, he went on to speak about the Lotus he drove in the year prior, which he considered his best package in Formula 1, it eclipsing the 2018 Haas which he and his outgoing teammate drove to a P5 in the constructor’s title that year. As episodes often do, this latest one ended with a preview of the upcoming Emilia Romagna GP at Imola, with discussion of the two-day weekend capping off the 35-minute episode.
Here’s link to the episode: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hdWRpb2Jvb20uY29tL2NoYW5uZWxzLzUwMjQzOTYucnNz/episode/dGFnOmF1ZGlvYm9vbS5jb20sMjAyMC0xMC0yNjovcG9zdHMvNzcxNDc2MQ?hl=en-IN&ved=2ahUKEwjJuu7b_NbsAhWT7HMBHTVBCGgQieUEegQIDRAF&ep=6
Here’s the last episode of F1 Nation
Here’s F1 Beyond The Grid Podcast having Toto Wolff