The Eifel Grand Prix looked set to be another typically poor weekend for Alex Albon, with him only managing P5 in qualifying after setting a best lap time half-a-second slower than team-mate Max Verstappen’s fastest Q3 run.
However, the race proved to be one of his worst performances at Red Bull.
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Aside from flat-spotting two sets of tyres in quick succession, which forced him to pit much sooner than he would have liked, Albon carelessly crashed into Daniil Kvyat, taking the front wing off of the Russian driver’s AlphaTauri.
Speaking to Formula1News.co.uk on Monday, ex-Formula One driver Marc Surer said he thinks it’s time for Red Bull to ditch Albon and bring back Pierre Gasly.
“Alex Albon doesn’t improve anymore, he has reached his limit at Red Bull, just like he did a few years ago [in junior Formula racing],” Surer said.
Continuing, the retired racing driver said he understands it’s difficult for Red Bull to reverse their decision and switch the two drivers around once more, but “Gasly has improved a lot and is now a grand prix winner, so he deserves another chance.”
While Albon has largely faltered this season, Pierre Gasly’s stock has risen since he returned to Scuderia AlphaTauri.
Most impressively, he bagged a podium at the 2019 Brazilian Grand Prix and took victory at Monza a few races ago.
In addition to these standout performances, the Frenchman has been a consistent points scorer and has outperformed team-mate Daniil Kvyat at most races this season.
Last month, Red Bull said they have “no intention” of making an in-season change to their driver line-up, but it looks increasingly likely that Albon will be dropped at the end of the year.
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