Formula 1: Alex Albon not thinking about 2020 Red Bull seat, for now

Alexander Albon

Albon not thinking about 2020 Red Bull seat, for now

He is still learning and improving each day.

Martin Macdonald

Tuesday 8 October 2019 14:00

Alexander Albon says he is not thinking about whether he will partner Max Verstappen for Red Bull in the 2020 season after being given the opportunity to impress with the team for half a season.

During the summer break, it was announced that Pierre Gasly would be demoted to Toro Rosso, with Albon going in the other direction to the Red Bull works team. Helmut Marko recently claimed it would indeed be between these two drivers for a seat with the senior team next campaign.

One would assume this brings added pressure to Albon’s performances between now and the end of the 2019 season, but he insists he is just focusing on the races at hand.

"It's all been good, there's a lot of support," he is quoted as saying by f1i.com.

"They've been studying me [while I] find my feet and learn from the team. They're very open to me, asking me questions and that kind of thing.

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"So it has been very open. I think people think there is a lot of pressure at the moment, but there really isn't. For me, it's learning and seeing how it goes.

Red Bull leaning towards Albon to partner Verstappen in 2020?Read more

"I'm not really focused on next year and all that talk. It's more just focused on this and the present time, maximising each race."

Red Bull are set to announce their 2020 line-up after the Mexican Grand Prix at the end of this month, but Albon says he has not been given any specific performance targets to hit by then which will help his chances of being kept on.

"Obviously I know that results are what matter at the end of the day," the former Toro Rosso driver added.

"In the end, there are no targets for me right now.

"It's just about doing the races, there's a few races to go [before Mexico]. But they haven't been pushing me or anything like that."