Formula 1: Alexander Albon confirmed at Red Bull Racing for 2020

Red Bull Racing have confirmed that Alexander Albon is set to continue driving for the team in the 2020 Formula 1 season.

After spending the first 12 races of his rookie Formula 1 season this year driving for Scuderia Toro Rosso, effectively the Red Bull Racing junior team, Alexander Albon was promoted to Red Bull Racing as the replacement for the struggling Pierre Gasly.

There has been ongoing speculation about whether or not the Milton Keynes-based team would retain the 23-year-old Thai-British driver for the 2020 season.

Now that speculation has ended, as they have confirmed that he is set to return alongside teammate Max Verstappen next year.

https://twitter.com/redbullracing/status/1194193115696906241

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In his 12 starts at Toro Rosso this year, Albon recorded five top 10 finishes, including a career-high sixth place finish in the German Grand Prix. His average finish was 11.67, and he finished outside of the top 15 on just one occasion.

In his seven starts at Red Bull Racing thus far in 2019, he has not finished in lower than sixth place and is proving to be an upgrade from Gasly, who recorded just five top six finishes in 12 races.

Albon finished in a career-high fourth place in the Japanese Grand Prix along. He also recorded four fifth place finishes and a sixth place finish, giving him an average finish of 5.14 with the team and 9.26 throughout the whole season. He has propelled himself from 15th to sixth in the driver standings during his abbreviated stint with Red Bull Racing so far this year.

Here is what Albon had to say about this opportunity, according to Red Bull.

"“I am really excited to be partnering Max again for next year and I know how fortunate I am to be given this opportunity. I’m hugely thankful that Red Bull have put their trust in me and believed in my results since I joined the Team and for them to keep me in the car next year is a big deal. This year has been an incredible year for me and getting the call up to Red Bull mid-season was already a big step, so now I will use the learnings from this season and use the experience to improve and fight at the front in 2020.”"

Here is what team principal Christian Horner had to add.

"“Alex has performed extremely well since his debut with the Team in Belgium and his results – seven finishes in the top-six – speak for themselves. It’s extremely hard to deny that level of consistency and in tandem with a growing reputation as a tenacious, fiercely committed racer, Alex has proved that he fully deserves to continue his progress with Aston Martin Red Bull Racing. There is plenty of potential still to unlock and we look forward to seeing Alex alongside Max in 2020.”"

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This confirmation likely sets up the Toro Rosso (Alpha Tauri from 2020) driver lineup for the 2020 Formula 1 season as well, as the Red Bull organization had previously confirmed that they would not be bringing in any drivers not currently within the organization. Pierre Gasly and Daniil Kvyat currently driver for the team.

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