Around a week after announcing that Sergio Perez will be joining the team next year, Red Bull have offered an explanation as to why they didn’t sign Sebastian Vettel as Alex Albon’s replacement for the 2021 F1 season.
In a recent interview, Dr Helmut Marko, head of Red Bull’s driver development programme, suggested that the primary reason they didn’t sign Vettel is because he had already committed to Aston Martin Racing by the time they decided to seriously consider replacing Albon.
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“When we decided to replace Albon, Vettel was no longer available,” Dr Marko told Motorsport-Total.com on Thursday.
Sebastian Vettel won all four of his F1 World Championships with Red Bull, but opted to leave the team after a lacklustre 2014 campaign.
Carlos Sainz will replace the German at Ferrari next year, while the four-time World Champion will partner Lance Stroll at Aston Martin Racing.
Red Bull’s 2021 driver line-up will consist of Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez, with Albon becoming the team’s test and reserve driver.
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