Formula 1: Who will partner Max Verstappen at Red Bull?
Red Bull have still not yet confirmed who will partner Max Verstappen for the 2021 Formula 1 season, with Pierre Gasly confirmed for another stint at sister team AlphaTauri.
Heading into November, there would usually be a clear idea of the final Formula 1 driver lineup for the next season. But with how topsy-turvy 2020 has been, not just for Formula 1 but the entire world, the majority of seats are only just being filled.
Last week alone, AlphaTauri confirmed Pierre Gasly is set to stay with the team for 2021, Alfa Romeo have re-signed Kimi Raikkonen and Antonio Giovinazzi, and it was confirmed that George Russell is set to stay at Williams despite rumors about his future under their new ownership.
But a big question mark remains over one of the biggest seats in the sport, and that is the seat alongside Max Verstappen at Red Bull.
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It’s looking increasingly likely that Red Bull will recruit externally. If that is to be the case, the two frontrunners are Sergio Perez and Nico Hulkenberg.
Perez currently competes for Racing Point, but he has been told that he will be replaced by Sebastian Vettel in 2021, likely alongside Lance Stroll at the rebranded Aston Martin team. Perez currently sits sixth place in the driver standings on 74 points, having outscored Stroll by 15 points.
He has said Red Bull is his only option for continuing in the sport but that he can’t wait too long for that decision to be made.
Nico Hulkenberg has deputized three times this season for Racing Point, twice for Perez at Silverstone Circuit and once for Stroll at the Nürburgring.
While he did not manage to start the first race at Silverstone Circuit, he sensationally scooped third place on the starting grid and finished in seventh in the second. Then at the Nürburgring, from last place (20th) on the grid, he finished in eighth.
While multiple reports claim that Verstappen is not too bothered by who ends up being his teammate, others suggest that he wants Hulkenberg at Red Bull.
Whatever the decision, Red Bull motorsport advisor Dr. Helmut Marko has reportedly said that the team want their second driver confirmed before the Turkish Grand Prix on Sunday, November 15.
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Let’s also not forget that Lewis Hamilton has not yet put pen to paper on a contract extension at Mercedes, although that may simply be a case of crossing the T’s and dotting the I’s.