727 replies to this topic

[sopa]

Marko is a liar. Once again. I don't understand what the benefit is... 

 

The benefit is to work out, which of the 3 drivers would be the best choice for a Red Bull seat in 2020. Nothing to lose in 2019, as 3rd in WCC is already secured. Though if Albon flops too, they'll have a tough choice to make, lol.

[Timstr11]

What!?!?!?

 

I like Albon and I think he's talented, but I fear Redbull is going to burn him up. It's too early for him.

[grunf77]

"No intention to replace Pierre during the season"

 

For some reason he reminds me of Hannibal Lector.

[Nova]

If I was Albon, I'd cancel my holiday plans and start driving that RBR simulator non stop untill the Belgian GP. Putting him in that car with so little experience halfway through the season, against Max who's never driven better is career suicide imo. But on the other hand, can he be any worse than gasly?

 

 

That is the bar he has to pass. He have to deliver better than Gasly, not beat Max. I think he has a fair chance of the former.

[V8 Fireworks]

Tell me please - what will be Albons chances against Verstappen? 

 

20%?

 

Albon doesn't need to beat Verstappen, just needs to be OK.

[Hela]

12 races, I hope he has the mettle to at least be in the same time zone as Max...... and God was watching

[Vielleicht]

the Red Brutal Driver Program strikes again

[Gareth]

Marko delivers once again

Pretty nuts though. Wishing Alex a lot of luck, nobody was ever earlier promoted than him and he isnt exactly the most impressive one. I sense a lot of desperation here.

Yeah, I like Albon a lot (enjoyed watching him in F2) and think he's done well in his debut season. But this feels a lot too early. Could make him or break him.

 

Switching teams mid season is fraught with peril. Switching mid debut season even more so. Switching mid debut season to be compared vs one of F1's best? Hope he succeeds, but this could be another "RBR chews them up and spits them out" moment.

 

Shame of Gasly, he looked promising in TR but its gone horribly wrong for him this season. Hope he recovers from it and gets his career back on track.

[SonGoku]

He is not going to beat Max, but worse than Gasly? Hard to achieve that.

[V8 Fireworks]

the Red Brutal Driver Program strikes again

 

It's an improvement on the Mercedes "No Drive" Program. 

[AlcidioG]

Max did okay switching mid season going up against a pretty formidable driver. So might not be career suicide

Edited by AlcidioG, 12 August 2019 - 10:42.

[NixxxoN]

Marko is a liar. Once again. I don't understand what the benefit is... Albon needs time to adjust... Look at Formula One in the 90ies. There were Schumacher and Jos Verstappen with such a huge gap at EVERY race. Or Schumacher and Irvine with large gaps... What happened? Kill Gaslys career is such a nonsense if Albon is next... Tell me please - what will be Albons chances against Verstappen?

True to all that
Marko is a completely "untrustworthy evil", and I think Albon hasn't shown much sign of being better than Gasly or Kvyat (yet) so its a bit early.
I can see Max obliterating Albon in a similar fashion at least in the short term

Edited by NixxxoN, 12 August 2019 - 10:48.

[JeePee]

Marko is a liar. Once again. I don't understand what the benefit is... Albon needs time to adjust... Look at Formula One in the 90ies. There were Schumacher and Jos Verstappen with such a huge gap at EVERY race. Or Schumacher and Irvine with large gaps... What happened? Kill Gaslys career is such a nonsense if Albon is next... Tell me please - what will be Albons chances against Verstappen?

He doesn't need to beat Max, just do better than Gasly.

[TomNokoe]

Will be funny if Gasly now mixes it with Albon during races all over again.  That will be very confusing

Nah.
 

Albon is seriously quick. High-rated by his peers too. He will flourish. I suppose the only expectation is "do better than Gasly", which he should achieve.

Gasly is a tougher cookie than Kvyat Mk.1, and probably faster than Kvyat Mk.2, so I think he will remain strong overall.

It would be quite bizarre if Kvyat comes out of this again looking like the weakest member of the Red Bull family, despite having nothing to do with this recent change!

Edited by TomNokoe, 12 August 2019 - 10:44.

[Vielleicht]

It's an improvement on the Mercedes "No Drive" Program. 

What can I say, F1 'driver programs' are a total mess...

[GoldenColt]

For some reason he reminds me of Hannibal Lector.

- What happened to Pierre Gasly, Helmut?

I enjoyed his liver with some fava beans and a nice chianti. Fffffffffffffffffff.

[sopa]

It's fun to remember that about a year ago Alex Albon had signed a deal to drive in Formula E! His F1 dreams seemed to have been over. And now look what has happened.

[SophieB]

Chris Medland‏ @ChrisMedlandF1 27m27 minutes ago

More

Christian Horner after the last race in Hungary, talking about Gasly: "Our intention is to leave him the car until the end of the year." Eight days later, he's no longer in the car. Wonder what he did last week... #F1

[DutchQuicksilver]

....Sigh....Red Bull just don’t learn do they. Another promising young driver’s career will be ruined. A great chance for Albon of course, but he’ll fall off the line just as Kvyat and Gasly did before him.

[statman]

Albon doesn't need to beat Verstappen or level with him, he needs to be the more consistent version of Gasly. Pierre was fighting for 8th places with the likes of Norris, Raikkonen and Perez. Albon just needs to bring that Red Bull back to at least 6th and perhaps mix it up with the Ferrari's and be clear from the rest of the field behind.

[Muppetmad]

It came a race later than I expected, but I felt a swap was on the cards sooner rather than later, given Red Bull's ruthlessness in such matters. Behold, it has come to pass.

 

Best of luck to both Albon and Gasly: Albon just needs to do his best and not let the situation overwhelm him; and the same holds true for Gasly.

[sopa]

Albon doesn't need to beat Verstappen or level with him, he needs to be the more consistent version of Gasly. Pierre was fighting for 8th places with the likes of Norris, Raikkonen and Perez. Albon just needs to bring that Red Bull back to at least 6th and perhaps mix it up with the Ferrari's and be clear from the rest of the field behind.

 

Gasly was actually very consistent in races. Consistently slow, that is. Albon would need to show at least some sparks to impress more. 

[Maxioos]

Nah.
 

Albon is seriously quick. High-rated by his peers too. He will flourish. I suppose the only expectation is "do better than Gasly", which he should achieve.

Gasly is a tougher cookie than Kvyat Mk.1, and probably faster than Kvyat Mk.2, so I think he will remain strong overall.

It would be quite bizarre if Kvyat comes out of this again looking like the weakest member of the Red Bull family, despite having nothing to do with this recent change!

 

Well, imo. he has. He is passed for the seat, while in post race podium finish was openly advocating for it.

 

". This year I feel more mature, my head is cooler, and I’m readier to fight on top, so I think I proved that today to myself and everyone around here. I hope this will become a habit soon!" 

 

The bold part is on their website. https://scuderiatoro...2019-german-gp/

 

This could lead towards mental disappointment.

 

But, then again, he himself contacted Marko for the STR seat, so he wanted to drive for STR himself (after their combined history). He even could be on a one year deal and having a new (Haas possible imo.) for next year and onward.

[SBR]

That is the bar he has to pass. He have to deliver better than Gasly, not beat Max. I think he has a fair chance of the former.

I hope for Albon he does well. If he helps securing p2 in the wcc, he probably has the seat for next year too as there are not many other options. If he performs on the same level or worse than Gasly, he might be out of a seat entirely at the end of the season. Time for him to step up.

[Vielleicht]

It's fun to remember that about a year ago Alex Albon had signed a deal to drive in Formula E! His F1 dreams seemed to have been over. And now look what has happened.

He did... having been dropped from the Red Bull program, built up by DAMS and offered a chance at their FE program. The Red Bull offer always was a good chance for Albon and really he sort of had to take it - but it absolutely slapped DAMS around the face and I still dislike how Red Bull did that. It was so disrespectful.

 

Hopefully it works for Albon, but he will not be immune from a similar fate to a whole roster of Red Bull drivers who get dumped if they don't set the world on fire. If he finds himself on the scrapheap from Red Bull's careless shuffling then I'll feel very sorry for him - even though it would be the second time he gets burnt by them. I'll still blame Red Bull.

 

I'd like to think that whole debacle hasn't burned his bridges with DAMS, to be honest, just so he has a Plan B.

[JHSingo]

Red Bull never learn, do they?

 

Surely the no-brainer decision in this case would've been Kvyat. I rate Albon highly, but I think this is too soon for him.

 

But once again, Red Bull go for the guy with not enough experience...

 

To think, this could've all been avoided if they'd gone for Sainz over Gasly. But, no, they wanted to keep Verstappen happy.

 

[pdac]

 

Chris Medland‏ @ChrisMedlandF1 27m27 minutes ago

More

Christian Horner after the last race in Hungary, talking about Gasly: "Our intention is to leave him the car until the end of the year." Eight days later, he's no longer in the car. Wonder what he did last week... #F1

 

 

Says something about how much power and influence Horner has. It's not as though it's new and unusual for RB/TR. I think they see RB as a team that should be fighting for wins and they much prefer to have the number one/number two driver concept. But they expect their number two driver to be either following their number one home or backing up the number one drivers strategy. Also, they seem to have this "prove yourself in half a season or your out" policy.

 

Oh and this confirms that Kvyat's career at RB is over. They'll keep him at TR as long as the don't have better options, but that's his lot now.

Edited by pdac, 12 August 2019 - 10:57.

[statman]

 

Chris Medland‏ @ChrisMedlandF1 27m27 minutes ago

More

Christian Horner after the last race in Hungary, talking about Gasly: "Our intention is to leave him the car until the end of the year." Eight days later, he's no longer in the car. Wonder what he did last week... #F1

 

 

maybe Pierre broke the simulator 

[Button4life]

I can’t see Albon doing better than Gasly. Too early for him

[dierome87]

This is crazy. 

 

Although at the same time, I doubt Red Bull expects wonders from him at this stage.

 

It's probably the best chance for him to learn without too much pressure.

 

He just has to be a bit better than Gasly (which, frankly speaking, isn't really a lot to ask). 

Edited by dierome87, 12 August 2019 - 11:13.

[septerra]

aaaah Kvyat... I still believe he deserves another chance. 

[absinthedude]

I did not see that coming, but I can see the logic. They've decided things aren't working for Gasly at RBR. They also have all the data they need on Kvyat. What they don't know is how well Albon will go in the RBR. I suspect he'll be told that his target is to do measurably better than Gasly....to finish a place or two behind Max. I just hope it isn't too much too soon, because Albon has quietly impressed me in the Toro Rosso but I'd have liked to see him do a full season without the expectations of podiums before moving up. 

 

I'd still say Kvyat is in with a chance of the RBR seat for 2020. It will also be interesting to see if Gasly does better in the STR - either due to less expectation or the car suiting him more. 

[P123]

I think the problem for Red Bull is that there just isn't anybody in their stable of drivers who is going to get near Max, or maybe justify their presence in a top car. Gasly isn't it. Kvyat has bene there and struggled. And Albon is still too green (although happy to be proven wrong). In fact I hope they aren't making the same mistake with Albon as they did with Kvyat in promoting too early.

Albon's target has to be to at least get within 0.4/ 0.5s of Max regularly. That would be a solid performance for a rookie who has been parachuted in mid-season.

[Maxioos]

Also

 

"Red Bull are in the unique position of having four talented Formula One drivers under contract who can be rotated between the Team and Toro Rosso."

 

I doubt they can place Max in the STR by his contract if he even had a P3 WDC (Who would have bet Max would be p3 at this moment pre-season?) at summer as exit clausule. 

[P123]

I can’t see Albon doing better than Gasly. Too early for him

It would almost be a challenge to do as badly as Gasly was.

[Atreiu]

I'm surprised they risk destroying the careers of two of their young rivers at once. But it's also good to se them go all in and make an ambitious move. This means they really want to overtake Ferrari in the WCC and push car development as hard as possible.

 

They are definitely not complacent.

[sopa]

 In fact I hope they aren't making the same mistake with Albon as they did with Kvyat in promoting too early.

 

 

Kvyat actually wasn't promoted too early. His 2015 season was fine, even though he was lucky to outscore Ricciardo. It was only from 2016 that things started to derail for Kvyat.

[Massa_f1]

Silly decision really. I hope Kvyat does not loose his new found confidence after being ignored by the big team again. They could now have 2 drivers lacking confidence in the B team.

[PayasYouRace]

Even Kvyat got a whole season at the big team before being unceremoniously dumped during a season.

I guess the question is how will Alex do with an early promotion to a top team? Some drivers revel in it while others struggle. Perhaps the question is what kind of Verstappen will he be. A Jos or a Max?

[HammyHamiltonFan]

Red Bull really are ruthless, Horner and co defended Gasly all season till the last race then finally snap and that's it, Gasly out

 

what an opportunity for Albon as well, impressed by him this year and in F2 last year but it's a huge step up for him and comes with a ton of pressure, I hope he makes the most of it!

 

in a way Gasly might be relieved I guess, takes the pressure off him for now, he knows Toro Rosso so might find that car more to his liking, means he stays in F1 as well whereas if he'd stayed and kept struggling till the end of the season he might not have even had that

[Lerdes]

It would almost be a challenge to do as badly as Gasly was.

 

Best to wait and see... I'm not so sure about that.

[A3]

Marko is ruthless, but he has Always been this way and people know it. I don't think this comes as a surprise to Gasly. Kvyat is doing good now, but maybe he's too fragile to put that pressure on him again.
Albon is a well respected driver it seems, extremely succesful in karting. Maybe they choose him because the RB15 fits his driving style more. Red Bull do have all the data.

Anyway, the pressure isn't that big, IMO. Sure, he has to perform, but as long as he's closer to Max than Gasly was, he'll be fine. And let's face it, the gap was huge. Feel bad for gasly though, he's a nice guy too.

[Thatfastguy]

the Red Brutal Driver Program strikes again

 

How? People are acting all suprised here but Gasly was unearthly slow. He had a race winning car to his disposal yet he was fighting McLarens, Renaults and Toro Rossos. He should be up there helping Max bag wins and podiums but he was actually hurting Red Bull. Any self respecting team would've already sacked him by now. This isn't a charity programme. 

[TheGoldenStoffel]

They will never learn, will they...

 

I really don't see how Albon is going to be an improvement over Gasly to be honest. He's doing alright in the Toro Rosso at the moment but so did Gasly and look how that turned out.

[Nova]

 Feel bad for gasly though, he's a nice guy too.

 

 

QFT. Easy to forget in this hypercompetitive world of F1, but the racers are humans.

[kosmos]

Not surprised at all, classic RB ruthless move. They had Sainz, perfect for the role, they screw up and they know it.

[A3]

They will never learn, will they...
 
I really don't see how Albon is going to be an improvement over Gasly to be honest. He's doing alright in the Toro Rosso at the moment but so did Gasly and look how that turned out.

It worked out with Max, didn't it?

It can be as simple as opposite driving styles between Gasly and Max. I am sure that all drivers have driven the RB15 in the sim so that Red Bull can compare.

[Astandahl]

[A3]

Not surprised at all, classic RB ruthless move. They had Sainz, perfect for the role, they screw up and they know it.

What should they have done differently with Sainz? Promoted him over Max?

[Peat]

The Red Bull meat grinder moves quickly nowadays.