If there was one word that you could associate with Red Bull’s driver policy, that word surely wouldn’t be ‘patient’ or ‘kind’. Over the last half decade alone, seven different drivers have driven for Toro Rosso, more than any other team in the same time period and the Red Bull management are known to be notoriously impatient towards their drivers.
Red Bull decide to bite the bullet yet again
Take a look at the careers of Jean-Eric Vergne, Brendon Hartley, Carlos Sainz and Daniil Kvyat – they are all great examples of Red Bull’s tendency to pull the trigger when the driver isn’t performing at his best and today, a new name has been added to the list in the form of young Pierre Gasly. The Frenchman was carrying the weight of a tremendous amount of pressure in the last few races owing to his far-from-impressive performances with the senior team in 2019 and it didn’t help him build any sort of momentum.
Pierre Gasly has had a disappointing 2019 season
While Red Bull’s team principal, Christian Horner said that the team wasn’t interested in dropping Gasly midway through the season, Red Bull performed a shocking U-Turn to swap Gasly with Alex Albon midway through the season, proving once again that at the high-pressure environment of Red Bull, the sack is always looming.
Albon’s opportunity
For Albon, one man’s disappointment is another man’s joy – although he may not have wanted to complete his ascendancy to Red Bull Racing in this very manner, the young Thai driver has gone from having slim chances to continue in F2 for another year to signing a Formula E contract with Nissan to making a career changing switch to Toro Rosso in F1 to driving for one of the Top 3 teams of Formula One; it has been quite the year for the London-born Thai driver.
“They came to me, and obviously I said yes please!”
Manners maketh man… @alex_albon charmed @redbullracing with his polite persona and ferocious speed back in 2010 ☺️
🎥= @yjajournalists pic.twitter.com/jyV9pCGEbm
— Formula 1 (@F1) August 12, 2019
Alex Albon has had a brilliant 2019 season so far and now he is in the Red Bull hot seat
That said, while it would be understandable to see Albon being the happiest man in all of Formula One at the moment, he mustn’t drown in the sea of ecstasy surrounding him. Instead, he needs to realise that his biggest opportunity may very well be his biggest threat; it is Red Bull’s impatience with drivers performing poorly that got Alex Albon to the hot seat so swiftly. Red Bull’s cut-throat mentality may have helped him get to the senior team but it is about time that the Thai driver realises that if he doesn’t deliver, he could very well have the same fate as Gasly.
Being one of the brightest talents in racing to emerge in recent years, it would be a shame to see Albon suffering the same fate as many of the other Red Bull drivers. For now, he has nine races to prove the duo of Helmut Marko and Christian Horner why he is the man for the job and why he deserves another season with the big team. Albon’s work is cut out and the motto at Red Bull is as clear as daylight – if you don’t perform, the team won’t be afraid to make reforms.
The pressure is on Alex Albon – his biggest opportunity is bound to be his most intense one
A severe but successful ideology
While the Red Bull way can be deemed as very harsh and intense, it is an ideology that has produced gems such as Sebastian Vettel, Daniel Ricciardo and most recently Albon’s new teammate, Max Verstappen. These three have shown immense composure and have delivered when it mattered most. All others have perished but this lot has gone on to stand on the top step of the podium for a combined total of 65 times.
Will Alex Albon be able to add his name into this illustrious list or will he have the same fate as Gasly and his old teammate Kvyat? Starting from the Belgian Grand Prix, he has till the end of the season to showcase his talent on the racetrack and his mental strength off it. The Thai driver must grab this brilliant opportunity to fight for race wins and podiums with both hands for if he doesn’t, Red Bull won’t be afraid to show him the exit door in the same way as they did to poor Pierre Gasly.
